Tip: Early next week, on June 2, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will be meeting to decide whether or not to relax certain rules governing media ownership. The commission will consider revising six rules that govern how much of the national media can be controlled by a single company. What might this mean to you? Do you feel your choices in TV broadcasting, newspaper coverage, and radio stations are wide enough and represent all points of view? Is it a good idea to allow a few mega-sized companies to own the major media outlets? Read the Merging Media feature from the Jim Lehrer Newshour on PBS for background and interviews with media analysts. Additional information about who owns what can be found in a searchable database from the Web site of the Center for Public Integrity.

News: If you want to check your grades, click here. You will need to input your student ID number and a password (your birthdate). Please be aware that grades are normally posted a couple of weeks after the semester ends.

Tip: Many timely non-partisan reports from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) are available through Connecticut Congressman Christopher Shay's Web site. For an updated look at U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia, first click on CRS Issue Briefs, then scroll down the page to IB 93113 Saudi Arabia: Current Issues and U.S. Relations.

News: The Library will be closed from Wednesday, May 21 until Saturday, May 31. We will re-open the first day of the first summer session on Monday, June 2. If you need to clear fines, knock loudly on the door on the 3rd floor! If you have outstanding books to return, the book drop near the faculty/staff elevator is always open. We look forward to seeing you in the summer!

News: The network printer on the 2nd floor went down for a few hours this morning but the problem was fixed in the afternoon. Always happens in Finals week!

News: Do you get a kick out of the fashions of the 60's? If so, that's another reason you'll enjoy the display on the 2nd floor of the Library. Called "40 Years of the Rio Hondo College Library", it has a few issues of El Paisano on display that show the way students dressed in 1964. Go have a look!

Tip: The Public Policy Institute of California.
This Web site provides non-partisan research on major economic, social, and political issues. Many free, full-text publications are available on the site.

News: We are very pleased to announce that the Library installed a new HP server yesterday to run our online catalog, Sirsi. It is some 14 times faster than our old server - and if you use WebCat, it is smoking!

Tip: Did you know that our online catalog, Sirsi, has a New Books list as a menu choice? If you want to see what the library is purchasing and adding to the collection, just click on the "New Books" icon.

Rio Hondo Librarians welcome you to our new blog! If you check back from time to time, you will find news about the library, upcoming events, and even more importantly, tips on how to use the library more effectively. I know that doesn't sound too riveting at this point, but give us time to develop the service and you'll be amply rewarded!