Final Project.......

Overview

My topic is in regards to political racism and the impact America can face if an African American, minority becomes the president. There are many things that come to mind when considering the possibility of an African American winning the race, including, slavery, segregation, affirmative action, civil rights, and assassination are a few of the spoken concerns. In today's culture racism is not practiced openly. Equal employment opportunity is one of the ways we have succeeded to protect against discrimination, stereotyping, policies, and the media. With racism in a covert form can America elect and support an African American presidential candidate?

The best way to approach a topic of this caliber is to look at the historical aspect of racism, minorites in politics, and then look at the modern view of politics and race in America. The strongest areas of research can be found by researching race relations in the United States and politics. Some items are available at the Long Beach City College Library.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

- Racism United States
- African Americans Segregation
- Political Socialization

Keywords

The form of Boolean strategy helps by combining the use of words such as "Politics and Race" to narrow search results when searching on matters regarding politics and race.
- Racism
- Political Discrimination
- Segregation
- Prejudices
- Race Relations
- Minorities in Politics

Reference Sources

These are great reference sources that specialize in the social aspects of minorities in America.

Rasmussen, R.K. The African American Encyclopedia. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2001.
Reference E185 A. 253 2001

Ciment, James. Social Issues in America: An Encyclopedia. New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2006.
Reference HN57 .S624 2006

Auerbach, Susan. Encyclopedia of Multiculturalism. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1994.
Reference E184 .A1 E58 1994

Print Books

Provides a look into black culture, racial prejudice, politics, affirmative action, and social justice. A good insight into the black mindset and politics.
Bracey, Earnest N. On Racism: essays on Black Popular Culture, African American Politics, and the New Black Aesthetics. Lanham: University Press of America, 2003.

A great book that conceptualizes the idea of African Americans in politics after the Civil Rights movement, including a hypothetical look into America with a black president.
Gooding-Williams, Robert. Look a Negro! :Philosophical Essays on Race, Culture, and Politics. New York: Routledge, 2005.

A good resource on the history of racism in personal, institutional, and cultural forms, Perfect piece for data and commentary on minorites in the 21st century.
Barndt, Joseph. Understanding and Dismantling Racism: The Twenty-First Century Challenge to White America. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007.

Periodicals

Black Enterprise, Jan 2008.
A popular magazine targeted towards the African American community covering racial sensitivity issues in this year's election.

Ebony, July 2008.
A popular magazine that studies the culture of African Americans and the issues pressing the community.

Harvard Political Review, Summer 2008.
A scholarly journal that provides non partisan political commentary.

Website Resources

A great online source that provides data, facts, and articles regarding racial inequality in the 2008 presidential election. Contains information on racial issues for each political party candidate, organization and world opinions.
http://academic.udayton.edu/race/2008ElectionandRacism/index.htm.

This website provides information on the black perspective of having an African American candidate. Links to worldwide editorials, articles, and facts are available on the this site as well as
official statements and opinions from the NAACP regarding the presidential election.
http://www.naacp.org.

Blog 5

This wasn't my first online course, I've taken a few others. I find that there is more interaction online sometimes depending on what course is taken face-to-face. I like to mix it up a lil and take both online and in a classroom. I love the flexibility online offers and the structure of the courses. I really enjoy working at my own pace and the calendar provides a clear direction of upcoming assignments, quizzes, etc. to prepare for and complete on your own. I think online courses could be somewhat difficult for anyone who is not self-motivated because the only downside to an online course I see is that time allows for people to get too relaxed, and working on your own with no real in class pressure of a instructor can make students a lil laid back. Some classes could be harder than others online depending on how clear the material and instructions are especially because instructors aren't necessary always available immediately for communication. I believe this class was perfect for online, considering the basis of this class mainly involved online research. Examples of other students work is sometimes helpful, and I would have liked a visual of the final project. I would have attended a face-to-face workshop of this class, I am a hands on person and a workshop could always help.

Information Competency - The Big 4

Do I feel I am a information competent student? I know one thing is for sure this class definitely helped me see a completely different view on the variety of ways to research information by using different methods. I learned a lot about the lil things I always wondered what their use was for, such as the decimal system, the different microforms, the explanation of subject headings, and that terms have many different subject classifications. Of course there is much much more but you catch my drift. I googled what is information competency there were many results but I looked at the palomer college library at www.palomer.edu/library. There is a description of exactly what information competency is and it states it is the ability to recognize the need for information, know where to obtain information, choose the proper source and retrieve appropriate information, organize, analyze, and synthesize information, and use and communicate information. I know there is always room for improvement and I will continue to improve on my searching skills and continue to get better at organizing and siting information. I know I am now a lot more competent than I was prior to this course!

Reflection 3

Aside from some frustration I am glad I enrolled in this class. I have been repeating myself but when I begin to type about my feelings towards this research process a big relief immediately jumps to mind. In the past I never really did any intense research, unless it was for a class project and I was part of a group so typically my research part was somewhat slim. I can say it is now easier because I know what to look for to distinguish factual information, I have learned where to get my sources from, and now that I look back the only areas I ever focused my attention on for research were google and yahoo. During these past few weeks there are so many different reference sources that I've used that I never knew could come in so handy. I definitely know that moving forward the sites I have learned including how to do advance searches, or look up call numbers will help me be more successful. The Library of Congress was really helpful as well so I know I will be referring to the online catalog more often. One thing I will keep in mind is the fact that there is so many different search engines to research a topic so if the results are not exactly what I am looking for, I will search differently and maybe even try different sources.

Blog #2

Eventhough I am learning a lot of information on how to do researches online I think it is still necessary and helpful to visit a library. I am a hands on person so physically having a book in my hand sometimes is more useful than navigating thru the web especially since I am not computer savy. I still haven't mastered it all. At least now I am learning how to authenticate and spot differences between sites to evaluate whether or not websites contain factual and real information. This library course has been very helpful and I am still glad I took it.

Today I went to the Long Beach Public Library located at 101 Pacific Ave. Long Beach, CA, 90822 in downtown Long Beach. The library is open even days a week 10am-6pm Monday and Wednesday, 10am-8pm Tuesday and Thursday, and 10am-5pm Friday thru Sunday. A drop box is provided for after hours to drop off books and returned any items previous checked out. The entrance to the library is located off Pacific St. and enters into the upstairs portion of the library. The library is two stories broken up by Non-Fiction up stairs and Fiction down stairs. In addition to the large volumes of non fiction books upstairs, are the check-out counter, information desk, children’s books section, self help books, auto manuals section, foreign language books and learning materials, periodicals and journals, and computers with online access.
The facility offers up to 28 computers with online access. You are allowed to browse the internet at your leisure or use the internet for research, job hunting, etc. The user is offered one free hour of access to the computer and printing services are provided in case you find something on the internet you would like to print. Free wireless internet is also offered for those that have laptops with wireless internet capabilities.
Downstairs in addition to the fiction books, are additional computers that are used as a computer training area. These computers can be used to learn the various Microsoft applications or other software, instructions on how to use a computer, and information on how to surf the internet. There is also a section devoted to government reference materials and publications, with a clerk to assist you with finding what you need. Caddy corner to the Government references are DVD’s, VHS’s, and CD's available for check out for a small fee. This includes new release DVD's and CD's out of Hollywood, independent films and music, educational media, historical media, and a decent library of Hollywood classics. These can be checked out for two days and cost from $1.08 for educational and all classic DVD's/CD's to $3.25 for new releases.
When checking out books, the library allows you to keep the book for up to three weeks, and then charges .25 a day for each additional day the book is kept if not renewed. The library offers numerous ways to renew your checkout such as in person, via phone (562) 570-7500, or even online. The catalog system is all electronic. There are numerous kiosks conveniently located in every section of the library that allows you to search for the book or item you are searching for. The books are categorized by non fiction/fiction and then broken down into subcategories, such as US history or Science Fiction, and then by title which allows one to find the book very easily. The library maintains an original paper catalog system with 3x5 index cards, but this catalog system only covers books that were in the library prior to 1996. The public also has the ability to use the catalog system from their home computer via internet to see if they have the book you are looking for, making it very convenient.
The library is a public library that receives federal, state, and city funding as well as funding from charitable donations. The library has its own non profit organization with the goal of fundraising to promote literacy, education and the joy of reading. Numerous services such as technology and internet classes, kids and teens reading programs, genealogy research, and numerous services for the disabled such as large print, reading machine, Braille, etc. The library is easily available for all citizens of Long Beach.
What I like the most about this library is how helpful everyone is and how organized everything appeared to be. There are plenty of instructions around to help assist you with your experience. I didn’t like the outside atmosphere of the location of the library, it made it un-inviting and unwelcoming. Of course once inside everything was completely different. The array of options for reading, researching, and web navigation makes your experience very welcoming. I also truly enjoyed the quietness and space this library offers.

Blog reflection 1

I didn't know what to expect when I first enrolled in this class or if I would like it. I kept an open mind and I did have some interest in taking a library course considering I used to volunteer filing books at my high school library. So far I am enjoying the class and learning the things that always made me say "a-ha". Reading about the Dewey Decimal system helped explain what the decimal means when it's placed in the call number. What I am most enjoying is learning how to search for information online, getting introduced to e-books, learning about the Library of Congress and how to navigate using different search methods. I definitely know I will be able to apply all the things I am learning for future courses. This is not my first on-line class, however it is somewhat different. I am finding it somewhat difficult to squeeze time to visit the library for assignments and I don't like that we only get 2 hours to check out the reading book. Although it's completely understable why the time is limited I feel rushed and there is so much information to read about. I guess I can't really complain because it is better than having to purchase one but I am sure like many others between work, school, family, and personal stuff having the book at all times would help reading at my own leisure. I am looking forward to learning much more so that I can be effective in reasearching information both on-line and in the library without being frustrated about not understanding what things mean and I'm sure others can agree.