Bird's Eye View April/May 2024

Bird's Eye View

April/May 2024

Librarian Kirk Russell's Retirement

The BC library staff and faculty are both thrilled and heartbroken to announce the May 2024 retirement of beloved Technical Services Librarian Kirk Russell. Kirk has been our phenomenal and knowledgeable Technical Services Librarian for the past 29 years and served as Library Chair from 2017-2022. Thanks to Kirk, we enjoy well-cataloged books in our library collection and seamless access to all 100 of our library databases. Kirk is also an incredible professor of research skills whose students in orientations, library workshops, LIBR B1, and at the reference desk constantly wax eloquent about his helpfulness and kindness. We are thrilled for his adventures in his retirement (including a month-long trip to England!), but his departure will leave a sizeable hole in our department.

The following are notes from library faculty & staff about Kirk’s impact on their work at the Bakersfield College Library.

“From my first day at BC, Kirk has provided me with invaluable guidance, insight, and advice for situations of any kind. He puts everyone he interacts with -faculty, staff, or students- at immediate ease with his kindness and humor. I am so lucky to have had a colleague like Kirk!” - Faith Bradham, Library Chair

“The funniest, most reliable, dependable, hardworking and best coworker EVER!!!-Stephanie Winn, Library Technician II

“I feel so lucky to have started working here when Kirk was department chair. He made me feel so welcome and was always there to answer questions or give advice. I'm going to miss him so much and the library isn't going to be the same without him.”-Laura Luiz, Reference Librarian

“I appreciate and don’t know how we’ll replace Kirk’s Institutional knowledge, wisdom, calming force, and joyfulness when he retires, but I wish him the best in his next adventures of life.”-Sondra Keckley, Reference Librarian

“It has been a privilege working with Kirk these past 16 years. The library will never be the same without him and I hope he knows how much we value him. Good luck on your retirement, Kirk. You will be sorely missed!!-Theodora Hare, Library Technician II

“Kirk’s unwavering curiosity, genuine interest, and relentless pursuit of knowledge and solutions have been invaluable to students and library staff alike during the past decade that we have worked together, and I will miss him greatly.”-Elisabeth Sundby, Reference Librarian

“Kirk will be missed! Kirk has always been exceptionally kind, a wonderful mentor, and just a pleasure to work with! -Alex Rockey, Academic Technology Professor

“Kirk is the calmness in the center of the storm, the rock unmoved by ocean waves. Kirk—I hope you get into restful enjoyments and curious adventures in your time ahead. Be sure you put up some support beams before your last day because we wouldn't want the ceiling to collapse on your way out, you pillar, you. Happy Retirement!”-Marcus Clough, Reference Librarian

“Knowing and working with Kirk has been such a treat. His positive attitude and expertise will be sorely missed.”-Megan Davis, Reference Librarian

April Library Research Skills Workshops

The final 2 weeks of library research skills workshops for Spring 2024 are April 15-19 and April 22-26.

Registration is required and opens 1 week in advance of each workshop week. This means that registration for the April 15-19 workshops begins at 8am on April 8, and registration for the April 22-26 workshops begins at 8am on April 15.

Students can register at the calendar accessible via the QR code to the right (or at the Library website >> Research >> Research Skills Workshops). We hope to see your students there!

Library Summer Hours

We are happy to provide you with a schedule of summer hours for the BC libraries. During these hours, students will be able to use the libraries to study and librarians will be available for research help for students (and you may request orientations for your summer courses!).

Panorama (Main) Campus Library

May 13-August 1
Monday-Thursday 8am-6pm
*Closure dates: May 27, June 19, July 4

BC Delano Library

June 10-July 17
Monday-Thursday 8am-6pm
*Closure dates: June 19, July 4

BCSW Library

May 13-August 1
Monday-Thursday 8am-6pm
*Closure dates: May 27, June 19, July 4

Read All ABout It! New Books at the Library

• Tawwab, N.G. (2021). Set boundaries, find peace: A guide to reclaiming yourself. TarcherPerigee. BF637.P3 T38 2021
• Haberman, M. (2022). Confidence man: The making of Donald Trump and the breaking of America. Penguin Press. E913 .H33 2022
• Starr, G.G. (2023). Just in time: Neuroscience and the temporality of aesthetic experience. The MIT Press. BH301.P45 S73 2023
• Sigler, L.A. (2022). Wartime style: Fashion and American culture during 20th century conflicts. McFarland & Company, Inc. GT615 .S54 2022 
• MacAskill, W. (2022). What we owe the future. Basic Books. BJ1474 .M33 2022 Delano
• Harper, J. (2020). Sporting gender: The history, science, and stories of transgender and intersex athletes. Rowman & Littlefield. GV708.8 .H377 2020 Panorama & Delano
• Li, C. (2021). Middle class Shanghai: Reshaping U.S.-China engagement. Brookings Institution Press. DS779.43 .L5 2021
• Greey, A.D. & H.J. Lenksyj. (Eds). (2023). Justice for trans athletes: Challenges and struggles. Emerald Group Publishing. GV708.8 .J87 2023
• Stevenson, B.E. (2023). What sorrows labour in my parent's breast? A history of the enslaved Black family. Rowman & Littlefield. E443 .S74 2023
• Desmond, M. (2023). Poverty, by America. Crown. HC110.P6 D46 2023 BCSW & Delano
• Lowrey, A. (2018). Give people money: How a universal basic income would end poverty, revolutionize work, and remake the world. Rowman & Littlefield. HC79.I5 L69 2018 Panorama & BCSW
• Barneson, C.R. (2021). The college wellness guide. Penguin. LB2343.32 .B375 2021 Panorama & BCSW
• Smialek, J. (2023). Limitless: The Federal Reserve takes on a new age of crisis. Alfred A. Knopf. HG2563 .S595 2023 Delano
• Doyle, T. (2023). Running up that hill: 50 visions of Kate Bush. Rowman & Littlefield. ML420.B897 D68 2023
• Franco, M.G. (2022). Platonic: How the science of attachment can help you make--and keep--friends. G.P. Putnam’s Sons. HM1161 .F728 2022 Delano
• Norman, D. (2023). Design for a better world: Meaningful, sustainable, humanity centered. The MIT Press. NK1520 .N67 2023 Panorama & Delano
• Park, Y.J. (2021). The future of digital surveillance: Why digital monitoring will never lose its appeal in a world of algorithm-driven AI. University of Michigan Press. HM846 .P36 2021 BCSW
• Tunstall, E. (2023). Decolonizing design: A cultural justice guidebook. The MIT Press. NK1520 .T86 2023 Delano
• Baron, D. (2023). You can't always say what you want: The paradox of free speech. Cambridge UP. K3254 .B375 2023 Delano
• Graham, M. (2022). The house where my soul lives: The life of Margaret Walker. Oxford UP. PS3545.A517 Z68 2022
• Carlson, C.R. (2021). Hate speech. The MIT Press. K5210 .C37 2021 Panorama & BCSW
• Sheehy, S. (2023). The matter of everything: How curiosity, physics and improbable experiments changed the world. Alfred A. Knopf. QC793.16 .S54 2023 Delano
• Witt, J.F. (2020). American contagions: Epidemics and the law from smallpox to COVID-19. Yale UP. KF3800 .W58 2020 Panorama & Delano
• Hayhoe, K. (2021). Saving us: A climate scientist's case for hope and healing in a divided world. One Signal Publishers. QC903 .H3925 2021 Panorama & BCSW
• Peña-Guzmán, D.M. (2022). When animals dream: The hidden world of animal consciousness. Princeton UP. QL785.25 .P46 2022
• Drucker, D.J. (2023). Contraception: A concise history. The MIT Press. RG136.2 .D78 2020 BCSW
• Blume, S. (2021). Immunization: How vaccines became controversial. Reaktion Books. RA638 .B58 2021 Panorama & BCSW
• Vaillant, J. (2023). Fire weather: A true story from a hotter world. Alfred A. Knopf. SD421.34.N67 V35 2023 Panorama & Delano
• Wicker, A. (2023). To dye for: How toxic fashion is making us sick-- and how we can fight back. G.P. Putnam’s Sons. RA779 .W53 2023 Delano
• Nesvold, E. (2023). Off-Earth: Ethical questions and quandaries for living in outer space. The MIT Press. TL795.7 .N47 2023 Delano
• Nagoski, E., & A. Nagoski. (2019). Burnout: The secret to unlocking the stress cycle. Ballantine Books. RA785 .N35 2019
• Eide, B., & F. Eide. (2023). The dyslexic advantage: Unlocking the hidden potential of the dyslexic brain. Plume. RC394.W6 E33 2023 Panorama & BCSW
• Burnes, T.R., & J.D. Dawson. (2023). Essential clinical care for sex workers: A sex-positive handbook for mental health practitioners. North Atlantic Books. RC451.4.S49 B87 2023
• Garcia, E. (2022). We're not broken: Changing the autism conversation. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. RC553.A88 G364 2021 Panorama & Delano