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| New This Week for February 1, 2007 |
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This Week Learn some steps in the presidential election dance, find a reputable publisher for that first novel, and look forward to the Super Bowl, Chinese New Year, and Valentine's Day; plus, we have new sites for our Black Resources collection. Tip of the Week See more about the U.S. presidency, including a new section we started for the 2008 election. |
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Arts and Humanities
Making Valentines: A Tradition in America
This online exhibit "is designed to show the evolution of the Valentine's Day card." It features annotated images of early Valentine cards from before 1850, background about Esther Allen Howland (an innovator in Valentine card design and production, who began making and selling Valentines in the 1850s), the George C. Whitney Valentine manufacturing company, which was in business from 1866 to 1942, and Victorian cards. From the American Antiquarian Society.
URL: http://www.americanantiquarian.org/Exhibitions/Valentines/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/23264
New York Divided: Slavery and the Civil War
Online exhibit about the attitudes towards slavery in New York City between the time slavery was abolished in the state in 1827 and the Civil War. Topics include New York City as a pro-Southern city, abolitionists and fighting slavery, and Civil War battles of New York and reconstruction. Features introductory essays, background about people and events, primary documents, and more. From the New York Historical Society.
URL: http://www.nydivided.org/VirtualExhibit/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/23241
Ragtime
Presentation on ragtime, "a genre of musical composition for the piano, generally in duple meter and containing a highly syncopated treble lead over a rhythmically steady bass." Features digitized images of sheet music, audio and video clips, essays, artist biographies, interviews, and other material about this musical genre. From the Library of Congress Performing Arts Reading Room.
URL: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/ragtime/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/22937
Business
Book Editors: Debut Novels, Book Publishers: First Novels
List of hundreds of U.S. book publishers who "have, at least once, bought the rights to first novels by unknown novelists or nonfiction writers." Also includes links to book publisher lists in the areas of business, children's books, cookbooks, health, reference, humor, religion, and sports. From an author of a book about ways to market books. Note: Includes commercial content for the author's book.
URL: http://www.bookmarket.com/newnovels.htm
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/23262
National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW)
NCPW highlights consumer protection and education efforts around the country. This site provides links to "information from federal, state, and local government agencies, and national consumer advocacy organizations" on the topics of consumers, business information, and international organizations. Also includes links to previous NCPW websites back to 1999. In English and Spanish. From consumer.gov, the "source for consumer information from the federal government."
URL: http://www.consumer.gov/ncpw/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/23257
Government
American President: An Online Reference Resource
Collection of material about U.S. presidents, including "essays about each President and their lives before, during, and after their presidential terms. It additionally provides information about the First Lady and cabinet officials of each administration." From the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.
URL: http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/23208
Declaring for President is a Dance of Seven Veils
This December 2006 essay discusses the steps potential presidential candidates might take before they declare that they are running for election. Possible steps considered include "testing the waters," television appearances, and the formation of an exploratory committee. ("The exploratory committee has been around for decades, and technically it creates a legal shell for a candidate who expects to spend more than $5,000 while contemplating an actual run.") From National Public Radio (NPR).
URL: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6581302
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/23249
Health
MedlinePlus: African-American Health
Collection of links to sites about health issues of importance to African-Americans. Topics include prevention and screening, nutrition, genetics, research, statistics (suicide, cancer, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, and more), and material for men, women, and children. From the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
URL: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/africanamericanhealth.html
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/23247
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD)
Material about this day observed annually each February. "The primary goal of NBHAAD is to motivate African Americans to get tested and know their HIV status; get educated about the transmission modes of HIV/AIDS; get involved in their local community; and get treated if they are currently living with HIV or are newly diagnosed." Includes facts and statistics, details about getting tested, video clips of public service announcements, and links to related sites.
URL: http://www.blackaidsday.org
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/23245
People
American Experience: RFK
Companion website to a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) documentary about Robert F. Kennedy, "who would almost certainly have been president if his violent death [in 1968, by assassin Sirhan Sirhan] hadn't intervened." It "chronicles the pivotal role RFK played in many of the major events of the 1960s -- the Cuban Missile Crisis, the civil rights movement, the war in Vietnam." Features essays, timelines, photos, profiles of people and events, and a teacher's guide.
URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rfk/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/23222
August Wilson 4/27/45-10/2/05
Collection of news and analysis about playwright August Wilson, who was born and raised in Pittsburgh and who also lived in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Seattle. Features a timeline, photos, obituary, and background about his Pittsburgh cycle of 10 plays, "each situated in a different decade of the 20th century, ... [which explore] the comedy and tragedy ... of African-American history and culture." Also includes links to many related articles. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
URL: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/03001/497623.stm
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/21852
The Charles Dickens Museum Virtual Tour
A photographic tour of the 48 Doughty Street, London, home occupied by Charles Dickens from 1837 until 1839 and where he published and completed some of his most famous works including "The Pickwick Papers," "Oliver Twist," and "Nicholas Nickleby." The tour includes a floor plan and annotated images of four floors of rooms.
URL: http://dickensmuseum.com/vtour/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/23253
Ready Reference & Quick Facts
Chinese New Year
This site provides information on how the Chinese New Year's Day is determined, the Chinese solar/lunar calendar, the animals of the Chinese zodiac, significance of Chinese dragons, calligraphy, and Chinese graphics.
URL: http://www.chinapage.com/newyear.html
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/3531
Today in History: February 14
Collection of resources for Valentine's Day, including brief history of the holiday and valentine cards, images, historic love songs, and other material from the collections of the Library of Congress. From the American Memory Project of the Library of Congress.
URL: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/feb14.html
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/23259
Valentine's Day: Love and Romance Through the Ages
This exhibit on the history of Valentine's Day features images of early greeting cards (with 3D interactive views), symbols associated with the holiday (such as Cupid and flowers), Valentine's Day in history and literature, religious and spiritual traditions, and more. In English and French. From the Virtual Museum of Canada.
URL: http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Valentin/English/index.php3
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/23261
Recreation
Colts and Bears Make Super Bowl History
Collection of radio stories about Super Bowl XLI in February 2007. "In its 41-year history, the championship has never seen an African-American head coach. This year, both teams' head coaches are black." Features stories about the teams (Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts), players, black athletes and coaches, and related topics. From National Public Radio (NPR).
URL: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7007672
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/23255
U.S. Census Bureau Facts for Features Special Edition: Super Bowl
Facts and statistics commemorating this football event, with historical details and facts about the current teams and the host city. From the U.S. Census Bureau.
URL: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_fe...
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/23244
Regional: California
California Air Resources Board: Dry Cleaning Program
Environmental programs in California related to perchloroethylene, "identified as a toxic air contaminant in 1991. Perc emissions in California result primarily from the use of the solvent in dry cleaning operations." Includes material about the Toxic Dry Cleaning Incentive Program that provides financial assistance to the dry cleaning industry to switch from systems using perchloroethylene to non-toxic and non-smog-forming alternatives.
URL: http://www.arb.ca.gov/toxics/dryclean/dryclean.htm
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/21887
How California Came to Be Admitted
Reprint of a 1900 San Francisco Chronicle article that discusses the significance of the status of California as an anti-slavery state when it was admitted into the United States on September 9, 1850. From the Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco.
URL: http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist5/caladmit.html
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/23242
Regions of the World
16th- Early 20th Century Maps of Africa
"This site features digital copies of 113 antique maps of Africa and accompanying text dating from the mid 16th Century to the early 20th Century. All scanned maps are authentic and originally collected by the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies (or the Africana Library) at Northwestern University." Searchable, or browse by title, cartographer, date, country or African region, or place of publication.
URL: http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govinfo/collections/mapsofafrica/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/23233
Iraq
This special report from National Public Radio (NPR) provides ongoing coverage of the postwar efforts to build a new Iraqi government and rejuvenate the nation's oil-based economy. Includes essays on topics including humanitarian issues and casualties, "personal accounts and reflections of individuals affected by the Iraq war, from the combat zone to the home front," commentaries, maps, and related resources. Note: this site is the successor to NPR's "Beyond the War in Iraq" feature.
URL: http://www.npr.org/iraq/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/6734
Science
Cornell Lab of Ornithology Macaulay Library Sound & Video Catalog
This site allows visitors to hear sound clips, view videos, and see visualizations of animal sounds. Includes clips of thousands of sounds for approximately two-thirds "of the world's birds, and rapidly increasing holdings of insects, fish, frogs, and mammals." Searchable by common or scientific name, location, recording date, and other items. Some features require free software downloads. From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
URL: http://www.animalbehaviorarchive.org
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/23117
Society & Social Science
American Experience: New Orleans
Companion to a February 2007 documentary about the history and people of New Orleans, featuring material about New Orleans jazz, Mardi Gras, gumbo, the Pickwick Club during the Civil War reconstruction period, desegregation, Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans writers, and more. Includes a map, Mardi Gras image gallery, timeline, teacher's guide, and video of the program.
URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/neworleans/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/23265
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Thanks for reading LII New This Week!
Jennifer English, Liaison to Califa Library Group
Wendy Hyman, Senior Editor
Maria Brandt, Associate Editor
Charlotte Bagby, Senior Weeder
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