Britannica Online Encyclopedia: The Origin of Halloween
A Hippie and Two Witches walk into a library......
Britannica Online Encyclopedia is available on the NC Library’s Search by Database page.
The award winning Britannica Online delivers fast & easy access to high quality, comprehensive information. The rich combination of Enyclopedia Britannica plus Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus, magazines & periodicals, and many other research tools is a reliable source for students to consult when conducting thorough research.
Britannica Online Encyclopedia explains the origins of Halloween: Halloween had its origins in the festival of Samhain among the Celts of ancient Britain and Ireland. November 1 was considered the end of the summer period, the date on which the herds were returned from pasture and land tenures were renewed. It was also a time when the souls of those who had died were believed to return to visit their homes. People set bonfires on hilltops for relighting their hearth fires for the winter and to frighten away evil spirits, and they sometimes wore masks and other disguises to avoid being recognized by the ghosts thought to be present. It was in these ways that beings such as witches, hobgoblins, fairies, and demons came to be associated with the day. The period was also thought to be favourable for divination on matters such as marriage, health, and death. When the Romans conquered the Celts in the 1st century AD, they added their own festivals of Feralia, commemorating the passing of the dead, and of Pomona, the goddess of the harvest.
In the 7th century AD, Pope Boniface IV established All Saints’ Day, originally on May 13, and in the following century, perhaps in an effort to supplant the pagan holiday with a Christian observance, it was moved to November 1. The evening before All Saints’ Day became a holy, or hallowed, eve and thus Halloween. By the end of the Middle Ages, the secular and the sacred days had merged. The Reformation essentially put an end to the religious holiday among Protestants, although in Britain especially Halloween continued to be celebrated as a secular holiday. Along with other festivities, the celebration of Halloween was largely forbidden among the early American colonists, although in the 1800s there developed festivals that marked the harvest and incorporated elements of Halloween. When large numbers of immigrants, including the Irish, went to the United States beginning in the mid 19th century, they took their Halloween customs with them, and in the 20th century Halloween became one of the principal U.S. holidays, particularly among children.
“Halloween.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 30 Oct. 2009 <http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9038951>.
Wednesday October 28 : On Your Mark… Get Set….The Amazing LIBRARY Race!!
- On Your Mark… Get Set…..Go!
The Amazing LIBRARY Race
Enter your team of 2-4 students at the Library Circulation Desk today – space is limited!
How it works:
The Amazing Library Race will be taking place on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009. Students must come into the Library to start the Race between 11:00 and 1:00 on that day. The Race should take no longer than 1 hour for a team to complete.
Teams will be given their first envelope when they start the race. The contents of this envelope must be completed correctly and brought to the Library circulation desk before teams will receive their next envelope. There are three envelopes in total to be completed.
The team who completes The Amazing Library Race correctly in the shortest amount of time will win the grand prize!
(Prizes include generous donations from the WC and NOTL Bookstores, Aramark Food & Nutrition Services, and SAC. )
Rules:
Teams may not have Library employees help them with the Race. Teams should be able to find all of the information they need on the Library’s website or in the Library.
Teams may not hide items to make them difficult for other teams to find.
SIGN UP TODAY!!
The Amazing Library Race : Think you know the Libraries?
Enter your team of 2-4 students at an register at either the NOTL library or the Welland Library Circulation Desk today – space is limited!
Put your knowledge to the test and enter The Amazing Library Race for a chance to win some AMAZING prizes!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Enter your team of 2-4 members at either the NOTL library or the Welland Library circulation desk today – space is limited! Grand prizes, courtesy of SAC and the Welland campus bookstore, will be awarded to the team that completes the Amazing Library Race correctly and in the fastest time at each library location. Teams will be required to start the race between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm on October 28th.
Will YOU be eliminated?
Your Library Your World: AskOn Online Research Help
As part of Canadian Library Month NC Libraries would like to highlight the askON online research help resource.
To gain access:
From NC Library Homepage click on the askON logo to recieve research assistance from college library staff from across Ontario.
About askON:
askON is a real-time chat information service that offers immediate, interactive, and knowledgeable research and reference help on-line.
Using chat, askON staff provide research guidance and can help you navigate the Internet, your library’s services, and other online resources; including several significant, full text magazine and newspaper resources licensed for the use of Ontarians by Knowledge Ontario. If you provide an email address after the end of your chat session, a transcript will be delivered to your email address.
Try it Today!!
Database Spotlight: Auto Repair Reference Center
- Auto Repair Reference Center
Ebsco’s Auto Repair Reference Center content includes more than 33,800 vehicles covered from 1945 to present, nearly 800,000 drawings and step-by-step photographs, approximately 83,200 technical service bulletins & recalls issued by the original equipment vehicle manufacturer, over 99,800 enhanced wiring diagrams for easy viewing and printing, specifications & maintenance schedules, Labor Time Guide & Estimator; AutoIQ, Quick Tips, a complete guide to vehicle ownership & maintenance, unlimited remote access and much more. New repair procedures and updates are continually added to the product. All of the content in Auto Repair Reference Center has been created by ASE certified technicians.
To gain remote access the Auto Repair Reference Center database:
- Go to the NC Library Services Homepage and under the Research Tab select Search By Database.
- From the Search By Database page scroll down the screen and select Ebsco Host – All Databases.
- You will be prompted to enter your 7 Digit Student/Employee number and your 4 Digit Birth Date to reach the Ebsco Host database selection page.
- From the Ebsco Host database selection page enter the Auto Repair Reference Center link.
NC Libraries Closed Monday October 12, 2009
- Thanksgiving Turkey (LOC)
Monday, October 12 — CLOSED
Tuesday, October 13 – Thursday, October 15 – 8am to8pm
Friday, October 16 — 8am to 5pm
New Netbooks Available Now!!
Dell Latitude 2100
Travel light with one of 20 (10 at the N.O.T.L Campus Library and 10 at the Welland Campus Library) new sleek, compact, high resolution netbooks.
Each Netbook comes in a soft shell bag with the necessary cables and are ready for use!
Here’s how easy it is to sign them out:
Come to the Circulation Desk of your Campus Library to talk to a staff member about booking equipment. We ask that you show a valid Niagara College ID card when reserving and borrowing.
Please note:
Continuing Education students may book equipment for class presentations through their Instructor.
Canadian Library Month: Your Library Your World
- October 2009 : Canadian Library Month
“College and university libraries are vital to learners, faculty and researchers. Academic library professionals provide expert reference assistance at point of need, whether in-person, through online chat or other electronic means and work cooperatively with faculty to assist students indeveloping the information literacy skills critical to success.“
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