Calcasieu Public Library Hurricane Info

Here is another excellent page of resources for hurricane evacuees courtesy of the librarians at Calcasieu Parish Public Library. I'm really proud that librarians around the state are really coming together to help out the evacuees in their areas with everything from Internet access to free printouts of FEMA forms. Librarians are so bloody cool!

Katrina Aftermath

This blog posted by the American Library Association concentrates on the effects of Hurricane Katrina on libraries, but it also has a lot of resource links and images. There is so much damage in the New Orleans area right now that it hard to even assess the damage.

Related Link - American Library Association

NOLA.com

This blog is an excellent resource for news about the effects of Hurricane Katrina on south Louisiana. Thousands more people are being evacuated with no word about when they will be able to return and what they will find when they do.

Katrina News

This web page was designed by my friend Anne Frohlich at McNeese State University in Lake Charles. She has collected here all the news sources and stories about hurricane Katrina so that evacuees and others can quickly access information. She has also included information on disaster relief and how to help out.

Thanks, Anne!

Foreign Relations of the United States

This digital facsimile of Foreign Relations of the United States is a project of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries in collaboration with the University of Illinois at Chicago Libraries. This is an incomplete run from 1861-1960 with missing volumes being added as they can be acquired and processed.

This is really a valuable resource for all libraries - not just depositories - that don't have historical collections. Users interested in law, history, and international relations can make good use of these digitized documents.

GPO Tools

Courtesy of the Government Documents/Maps department at Evergreen College, here is a great web page with tools designed to help librarians help their patrons find historical government information. This is one of my favorite govdocs help pages because it is well organized and very easy to use. The Serial Set Finding List alone is worth the price of admission.

Panda Cam

Now you can watch pandas sleep in live action courtesy of the good folks at the Giant Panda Research Station at the San Diego Zoo.

They also have a lot of other cool stuff about the pandas on the website including more images and a blog.

8 Great Teachers from Hell

From movies.go.com here is a countdown of 8 of the most hellish teachers ever to appear on film. Not to spoil the whole thing for you, but Professor Snape, as portrayed by the luscious Alan Rickman, is Number 3!

They smirk, they snipe, they curdle your blood. Sometimes, they even put the moves on you (scandalous!). But, at least up there on the screen, classrooms wouldn't be any fun without these twisted teachers.

UN Pulse: Connecting to UN Information

This blog is your one-stop-shop for new United Nations documents, publications, and other information. It is created and maintained by the good folks at the United Nations Dag Hammerskjold Library in New York.

Constitution Resources

The time has come to start getting stoked for Constitution Day on September 17, 2005

• Constitution Resources from Federal Resources for Educational Excellence
• Back to School for Constitution Day from LLRX.com
• Celebrate Constitution Day! from the National Archives
• America's Historical Documents from the National Archive

More to follow.

If you all are good, I'll post pics of the display I'm working on for the lobby display case.

THOMAS Legislative Database to Get a Facelift

Here is a good article about the overhaul of the THOMAS database. They are working on a new interface and a new search engine. I'm particularly excited about being able to search across congresses.

This has long been one of my favorite government information web sites, and I'm glad to see that it is still a dynamic resource.

Visit THOMAS - http://thomas.loc.gov/

Deluxe Librarian Action Figure

If you just can't get enough of the Dewey decimals or if you go bananas for books, chances are you have a Librarian Action Figure. Nancy Pearl's likeness made history as the best selling Librarian Action Figure of all time, but the true collector needs this Deluxe Edition. Each 5" tall, hard vinyl figure is dressed in a stylish burgundy outfit and comes in a library diorama with a reference desk, computer, book cart, multiple book stacks and some loose books, including a tiny plastic replica of Nancy's latest, Book Lust 2. Press the button on her back for the infamous "amazing shushing action!"

Apparently people still don't get that Nancy Pearl is a real person and this is what she looks like. She is not some dumb stereotype, she is a real honest to goodness librarian. Thus this new version of her action figure with a more vibrantly colored suit and more timely reading suggestions. At least she still "shushes"!

Here's what else McPhee.com had to say about this figure - Our Nancy Pearl Librarian Action Figure is not only one of our best selling items, it is also, surprisingly, one of our most controversial. A
few complained that the figure presented a stereotype of the librarian as dowdy and stern, so we are using our new DELUXE version to address some of the concerns. Her outfit is now a rich burgundy color and she comes with a diverse selection of books and a reference computer. She does, however, still shush.


I simply must have one!

TeachersFirst

TeachersFirst is a rich collection of lessons and web resources for K-12 classroom teachers, their students, and even students' families. Materials are arranged by subject area and grade level, making it easy to locate lesson plans and associated web resources quickly.

They have a lot of cool info there on studying current literature like Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and also wealth of information here, alot of info on Native Americans - crafts, recipes etc and much more. In the native amer section there are very basic directions for dream catchers. This info is geared to teachers of grades k through 12.

Go dig around its great.

GPO's Franklin

Welcome to Franklin, your online finding tool for the National Bibliography of U.S. Government Publications. It is named for Benjamin Franklin, who served as the official printer for several of the original 13 colonies and established the nation's first lending library.

Take the Government Printing Office's new online public access catalog for a test drive. I played around with it a little this morning and the word search works pretty well. I like the layout, but it will take some getting used to.

All in all, it has a good beat and I can dance to it. I'll give it an 85, Dick.

What would you do with 23 million bachelors?

Bachelor generation 'threatens China's stability'
By Richard Spencer, in Beijing
(Filed: 22/07/2005)

China will have more than 23 million men unable to find wives by 2020 because so many more boys are being born than girls, according to a study.

The widespread practice of aborting female foetuses is being blamed for creating a generation of bachelors who will pose increasing social problems, it says.

So, what is the Chinese government going to do with 23 million "bare branches"? How will it deal with 23 million men who don't have families and never will? Hmmmm.... War might be a good option. With that much cannon fodder it should be easy to conquer the world - and have all that sweet delicious oil all to yourselves.

Popwatch

Here is a fairly interesting pop culture/media blog from Entertainment Weekly. And proof positive that I'm the only person in the hemisphere who doesn't watch Desperate Housewives

DLC Vision Outline

The Depository Library Council (DLC) invites the library community and general public to post their comments on, “Toward a Vision of the Government Information Environment of the 21st Century: A Draft Outline,” on the DLC Vision Outline Blog.

With the advent of the Web access to Federal Government information has expanded far beyond Federal Depository Libraries. The current environment presents challenges to Federal Depository Libraries in four key areas:
* Library Roles in the Non-Exclusive Environment
* Managing Collection and Delivering Content
* Adding Value
* Deploying Expertise
The DLC has developed a series of questions to be used as guides in drafting papers on each of these significant issues. It is our hope that these papers will help focus the discussion as we envision our future as providers of government information at the Fall Depository Library Conference, October 16-19, 2005.

A blog has been created for community discussion of these significant topics. The use of a blog will provide the quickest and most efficient way to share comments among many stakeholders. The four key topics mentioned above, as well as the entire outline, are available for comment and information sharing through October 15, 2005. At the end of the comment period the contents of the blog will be archived and linked from the DLC page off of the FDLP Desktop at <http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/council/index.html>.

Another blog will be established for comments on the document developed by Council as a result of this process, following the Fall 2005 Federal Depository Library Conference.

You can comment on any or all sections of the draft by clicking on the "comments" link at the end of each topic. You may choose to comment anonymously or you may proceed with a very brief one-time registration process that will allow you to login repeatedly as the blog grows and add comments under your own identity.

Trashy Novels I Have Read

While I was off on mental vacation, I did some reading.

• House of a Thousand Lanterns by Victoria Holt
• When Darkness Falls by Shannon Drake
• Minerva by Marion Chesney

I also read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which I loved. I won't spoil it for any body, but when I got to the end I had to go to the bathroom and cry like a little girl. However, I think JKR is schooling us on the Snape issue if you know what I mean.

I finished The First Elizabeth the other day and I really recommend it. It is dense and packed with information, but not difficult to read. I believe I understand Elizabeth I a lot better. She was a difficult person to know and like, but I really admire her for being a woman and keeping her kingdom together.

I'm Back!

I've been off somewhere insane for a few weeks, but I'm back now and ready to blog!