Library News

Spring 2007

Congratulations Jackie Boll, Dean of the Library/Learning Resources!

After serving as Interim Dean of Library and Learning Resources, Jackie Boll underwent a highly competitive selection and interview process to obtain the position of Dean of Library and Learning Resources. Jackie says, "The Library/Learning Resource Center has always been user-friendly. I look forward to improving and expanding our services bringing forth a new energy and excitement to this beautiful campus resource."

Ebooks are Everywhere!

 

Ebooks, or electronic books, are quickly growing in number and popularity in our library's collection. They are "everywhere" because they can be read from any internet connection, whether browing for facts for a research paper, or copying and pasting passages to notes for a speech. Ebooks are easily accessible through the library's online catalog with a link to the NetLibrary web site.

 

For off-campus access a user name and password are required. Further information can be had by contacting librarian@fullcoll.edu.

 

The Legal Case that Ended School Segregation in Orange County: A Mendez Panel Discusssion

The Friends of the Fullerton College Library are pleased to announce that Sylvia Mendez, Gonzalo Mendez, Jr., Jerome “Geronimo” Mendez, Mike Matsuda, and Judge Frederick P. Aguirre will participate in a panel discussion about how the California legal case Gonzalo Mendez, et al. vs. Westminster School District of Orange County, et al. forever changed their lives. On Thursday, March 22, 2007 at 12 noon in the Campus Theater, Adela Lopez, Fullerton College Ethnic Studies Department Coordinator and faculty member, will moderate this discussion to present the personal story behind the legal case which was initiated by the Mendez family in 1944.

You may ask yourself, who is the Mendez family? The children of Gonzalo Mendez, a Mexican immigrant, and his wife Felicitas Mendez, a Puerto Rican, were born in Orange County. The three eldest children were nine, eight, and seven when they were turned away from the Westminster Grammar School due to the color of their skin and their last name. Mike Matsuda, North Orange County Community College Board of Trustee member and co-author of Mendez vs. Westminster: For All the Children – An American Civil Rights Victory, writes, “This profound story has impacted  everyone of us, regardless of race, and truly gives meaning to the phrase-‘and justice for all’." Judge Frederick P. Aguirre adds, “My father and other Latino World War II veterans used the precedent set in the Mendez case to convince the Trustees of the Placentia School Board to end the practice of segregating Latino children in separate but inferior schools. Thus, I was able to attend an integrated public grammar school, receive a quality education and compete on an equal ground with all the students from my hometown."

The Mendez family is finally beginning to be recognized for their contributions. In 2003, Representative Loretta Sanchez submitted House Concurrent Resolution 200, which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary recognizing “Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez, and those who actively supported their efforts, for ending segregation in schools in Orange County, California, and for setting the precedent for the historic Brown v. Board of Education case.

Last update: October 7, 2010