Spring Displays at the Library

As a recipient of the Bridging Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Journeys grant, the Library received a collection of 25 books and 3 DVDs on Muslim and Islamic culture - these items are available to be borrowed by CCC students, faculty, and staff, as well as by members of CCC's tri-county service area.
CCC's Marketing Department issued a press release to announce the Library's receipt of the grant, which generated a follow-up contact from Chris Walters, a member of the community who has lived and traveled overseas. As a result, as a part of the Muslim Journeys display in the main gallery of the Library, we are now exhibiting two beautiful photographs of the Blue Mosque taken by Chris when he visited Istanbul, Turkey. Other items on display include materials from the Library's Special Collections: leaves from the Qur'an, pottery fragments, papyrus, clay tablets, oil lamps, and scarabs from Egypt and the Middle East; examples of veils from different parts of the world on loan from the South Asia Program at Cornell University; and various artifacts on loan from staff members: scarves and an embroidered caftan from India, a Turkish bowl, and more.  Stop in and check it out!

Also, did you know that U.S. President Gerald Ford visited Corning Community College? Explore the new archives display on the lower level of the Library entitled "A Poet, A President and A Producer" to learn more about his visit and those of two other well known people: Robert Frost and Michael Crichton. Send you thoughts about the display to archives@corning-cc.edu.

FREE Database Access - April 2013

The month of April is Holocaust Awareness Month.  In recognition of this sobering topic, Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. Library is offering free access to ABC-CLIO's Modern Genocide collection through April 30, 2013.

Please contact the library (libraryATcorning-cc.edu - use @ instead of AT) for the username and password!

Timely Tax Safety Tips from the NYS Office of Cyber Security

It’s tax season and criminals are taking advantage of scam opportunities.  Don’t become the next victim.

Scammers leverage every means at their disposal to separate you from your money, your identity, or anything else of value. They may offer seemingly legitimate “tax services” designed to steal your identity and your tax refund, sometimes with the lure of bigger write-offs or refunds. Scams may include mocked up websites and tax forms that look like they belong to the IRS to trick you into providing your personal information.

Scam artists can prey on users by promising refunds that are fraudulent, a scam the IRS says has been rampant in previous years. In these scams, notices are posted on bulletin boards, in libraries, and at other community sites offering assistance.  Scammers make money in two ways:  first, they collect a fee for helping to “file” for a refund on behalf of their victims, and then they steal the victim’s identity for further exploitation. The victims are left paying a fee for a fraudulent service, not getting the refund they thought they would, and are potentially in a position to face charges for failing to file a return or for committing fraudulent reporting.

How to Recognize an Email Tax Scam

According to the IRS, below are key ways to recognize an email tax scam.  The email:

• requests personal and/or financial information, such as name, SSN, bank or credit card account numbers or security-related information, such as mother’s maiden name, either in the email itself or on another site to which a link in the email directs you; 
• includes exciting offers to get you to respond, such as mentioning a tax refund or offering to pay you to participate in an IRS survey; 
• threatens a consequence for not responding to the email, such as additional taxes or blocking access to your funds; 
• has incorrect spelling for the Internal Revenue Service or other federal agencies; 
• uses incorrect grammar or odd phrasing; or 
• discusses “changes to tax laws” that include a downloadable document (usually in PDF format) that purports to explain the new tax laws. These downloads are populated with malware that, once downloaded, may infect your computer. 

How to Avoid Becoming a Victim

To stay safer this tax season, follow these five steps:

1. Secure your computer. If your computer does not have proper security controls, it is vulnerable to access by criminals, who may be able to steal information stored on it.  Make sure your computer has the latest security updates installed. Check that your antivirus and antispyware software are running properly and are receiving automatic updates from the vendor. If you haven't already done so, install and enable a firewall.  
2. Carefully select the sites you visit. Safely searching for tax forms, advice on deductibles, tax preparers, and other similar topics requires caution.  Know the site. Know the company.  Do not visit a site by clicking on a link sent in an email, found on someone’s blog, or on an advertisement. The website you land on may look just like the real site, but it may be a well-crafted fake. 
3. Don’t fall prey to email, web, or social networking scams.  Common scams tout tax rebates, offer great deals on tax preparation or offer a free tax calculator tool. If you did not solicit the information, it’s likely a scam.  If the email claims to be from the IRS, it’s a scam – the IRS will not contact you via email, text messaging or your social network, nor does it advertise on websites. If the email appears to be from your employer, bank, broker, etc. claiming there is an issue with what they reported for you and you need to verify some information, it might be a scam.  Do not respond to the email. Contact the entity directly before responding.  
4. Never send sensitive information in an email. It may be intercepted and read by criminals.  
5. Use strong passwords. Cyber criminals have developed programs that automate the ability to guess your passwords. To protect yourself, passwords must be difficult for others to guess, but at the same time, easy for you to remember. Passwords should have a minimum of eight characters and include upper case (capital letters), lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.  Make sure your work passwords are different from your personal passwords.

For More Information:

For additional information about tax related scams and identity theft, please visit:

•  Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft: www.irs.gov/uac/Taxpayer-Guide-to-Identity-Theft
•  Tax Scams/Consumer Alerts:  www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-Scams-Consumer-Alerts   
•  IRS Releases the Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2012: www.irs.gov/uac/IRS-Releases-the-Dirty-Dozen-Tax-Scams-for-2012 
• What’s Hot – IRS: www.irs.gov/uac/What's-Hot
• Report Phishing: www.irs.gov/uac/Report-Phishing

 The information provided in the Monthly Security Tips Newsletters is intended to increase the security awareness of an organization’s end users and to help them behave in a more secure manner within their work environment.  While some of the tips may relate to maintaining a home computer, the increased awareness is intended to help improve the organization’s overall cyber security posture. This is especially critical if employees access their work network from their home computer. Organizations have permission and are encouraged to brand and redistribute this newsletter in whole for educational, non-commercial purposes.

Brought to you by: MS-ISAC

                                                                                           

Visit DHSES online at: www.dhses.ny.gov
Visit NY-ALERT online at: www.nyalert.gov

Event: Veiling Around the World

Come to the Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. Library on Monday, March 18, 2013 at 10:45 am in the Gillette Reading Room for our spring "Books and Bites" program - "Veiling Around the World."  Dr. Kathryn March, Cornell University Professor of Anthropology and Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies, will talk about women and veiling.

This event is part of our Bridging Cultures: Muslim Journeys Bookshelf grant, a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities and conducted in cooperation with the American Library association.  The lecture is presented in conjunction with the Campus Interfaith Ministry at CCC.  See the attached poster for more details!

Research Award Contest deadline approaching!

As you are heading back to campus to start the spring semester, don't forget about the Library Research Award!  Your well-written paper from last semester could win $250!  The entry submission deadline is January 25, so get your entry packet together ASAP.

To print an entry form, click on the link below.  The files are in .pdf format, so you will need Adobe Acrobat to view and print them.

2012 Library Research Award entry form and packet

Final Exam Time

Final exams begin December 10 at Corning Community College - are you looking for a quiet place to study?  A spot to relax between exams?  Or do you need to do some research to finish a paper?

Come to the Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. Library!  During finals week the Library is open Monday - Thursday from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm, and Friday from 7:30 am until 4:00 pm.  The Library is also open December 17-21 from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm daily (4:00 pm on Friday).  The Library will be closed from December 22 - January 1, 2013.  Happy Holidays!

Banned Books Week at the Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. Library



Reprinted by permission of the American Library Association

 The Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. Library will present a program on censorship and banned books entitled, “Controversy Between the Covers:  A History of Banned and Challenged Books” from 11:00 - 11:45 a.m. on October 3, 2012, and again on October 4 from 12:30 - 1:15 p.m.  Attendees will learn about the origins of censorship, CCC’s involvement in one specific banned book debate, and how to research this topic further. Students who attend the program may to enter to win a “I read banned books” tote bag, currently on display in the Library.  The drawing will be held following the program on October 4th (although entries will be collected on the 3rd as well).

The Library program is part of the celebration of “Banned Books Week,” September 30, 2012 to October 6, 2012. A display in the Library highlights books that have been challenged or banned across the country, with items from the Library’s General and Special Collections, including publications by and about Corning native, Margaret Sanger, birth control pioneer and founder of Planned Parenthood. In addition, an Archives display in the lower level of the Library chronicles a local controversy over Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer.  Check it out!