READ SPEAK KNOW

Celebrate the Freedom to Read during  Banned Books Week , September 26-October 3, 2009. Banned Books Week annually celebrates the importance of the First Amendment, the freedom to read, the freedom to access information and the freedom to express ideas without fear. Intellectual freedom provides the foundation for a free and democratic society to access and express multiple viewpoints regardless of popularity.

Librarians at SDSU are committed to intellectual freedom and unfettered access to information. In celebration of Banned books week, the library features displays on the Main Level and the Lower Level. Check out the Main Level East hallway display case and the Table Display in the lobby near the Information Services Office which includes the 2008-2009 Challenged Books List and examples of books that have been challenged in libraries, schools, bookstores, and communities. The Lower Level display outside the Government Documents Office explores federal publications related to the freedoms protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

See the American Library Association’s Issues & Advocacy pages for more information about Banned and Challenged books http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/index.cfm.

Vickie Mix, Government Documents Librarian

News and Resources on the Supreme Court Justice nomination

In the news…

Supreme Court Justice David Souter has announced his coming retirement.  On May 26, President Obama announced his selection of Sonia Sotomayor to become the newest justice.  Sotomayor now faces hearings in the Senate, which has the authority to either approve or reject Pres. Obama’s nominee.

Here is a selection of resources for further information on this topic:

- For information on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor: http://www.loc.gov/law/find/sotomayor.php
- For information on the Supreme Court including history, the docket, and opinions: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/
- For online access to the text of Supreme Court Nomination Hearings since 1971: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/senate/judiciary/scourt.html
- For a list of Supreme Court nominees since 1789: http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/nominations/Nominations.htm
- For information regarding presidential nominations, nominees, and appointments: http://www.senate.gov/reference/Nominations/Index.htm
- For a biographical directory of federal judges since 1789: http://www.fjc.gov/public/home.nsf/hisj

For further information, please ask at the Information Desk or the Government Documents Department. While you are at the library, feel free to check out the displays on the lower level and learn more about our Supreme Court Justices as well as our Justice Department publications.

Laura Plowman, Public Services Library Associate

Memorial Day: Government Information Resources

 

Library of Congress:

• American Folklife http://www.loc.gov/folklife/
• American Memory Today in History May 30, 1868 http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may30.html
• Veterans History Project http://www.loc.gov/vets/
• Wise Guide to Memorial Day http://www.loc.gov/wiseguide/may03/memorial.html

National Moment of Remembrance Act http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS11674 

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Public and Intergovernmental Affairs http://www1.va.gov/opa/speceven/memday/index.asp 

USA.gov guide to Memorial Day http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Memorial_Day.shtml

Whitehouse Commission on Remembrance http://www.remember.gov/ 

Vickie Mix, Documents Librarian

Congressional Hearing: Role of Museums and Libraries in Strengthening Communities

“Examining the Role of Museums and Libraries in Strengthening Communities” – Hearing before the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities – Committee on Education and Labor – U.S. House of Representatives – 110th Congress, 2nd Session – September 11, 2008 – Serial No. 110-109.  Y 4.ED 8/1:110-109

 http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS109681

Vickie Mix, Documents Librarian

Intellectual Freedom and Freedom of Information

Intellectual freedom begins with the freedom of information. The value of free and public information was recognized early in the history of the United States of America. In 1813, Congress authorized and mandated the distribution of Congressional materials to select universities, historical societies, and state libraries. The result, was the creation of the Federal Depository Library Program. The purpose of the Federal Depository Library Program is to provide free, easy, permanent access to federal government information. Title 44, Chapter 19 of the U.S. code established the legal requirements for federal depository libraries, foremost of which is to make government publications available for free use by the general public.

In 1889, South Dakota State University was designated as a depository library. H.M. Briggs Library is the largest depository library in South Dakota, collecting 75% of publications distributed through the Government Printing Office. There are over 575,000 volumes in the Government Documents collection including monographs, microforms, CDs, DVDs, floppy discs and electronic documents on the Internet. These are all publications produced by federal government agencies required by law to provide copies (in any format) of publications to the Government Printing Office for distribution to depository libraries that may choose to select those publications. Today, the Government Printing Office provides access to over 90% of these publications online. Additionally, government agencies increasingly only publish information through their websites. The Freedom of Information Act of 1966 and the 1996 Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments ensures public access to government information in tangible and electronic formats. Your right to know what your government is doing is further supported by the present Presidential administration’s transparency initiatives.

The Documents Department of Briggs Library supports your right to know and your right to access Government Information. The Government Documents collection is a rich legacy of historical and contemporary research materials on almost any topic. Resources are available in multiple formats paper, microforms, CDs, DVDs, floppy discs, online databases, online research publications, online consumer information sites, and electronic government services.

Exercise your intellectual freedom to access the information of your Government. Documents staff are more than happy to assist in the quest for government information. We are committed to the free, unrestricted access to government information.

Find out more about Government Information at Briggs Libray at http://lib.sdstate.edu/find/govdocs/ and our collection access policy at http://lib.sdstate.edu/find/govdocs/DocumentsPolicy.pdf.

Vickie Mix, Documents Librarian

Earth Day 2009

Happy Earth Day 2009!

The United States has been celebrating Earth Day since 1970, the year the Environmental Protection Agency was created.  These government websites offer more information about Earth Day:

 

http://www.earthday.gov/

This website provides information on conservation and volunteer opportunities.  A special ‘for kids’ section offers many Earth Day and environment-related games and learning activities for kids or kids-at-heart.

 

http://www.epa.gov/earthday/

The Environmental Protection Agency’s website offers news, analysis on a variety of environmental issues, information about Earth-friendly science and technology, and much more.

 

http://www.epa.gov/earthday/history.htm

This page, provided by the EPA, gives a nice timeline of environmental progress from 1970 to today.

 

Also, feel free to visit the lower level of the library to see our Earth Day display full of a variety of government publications regarding the environment. 

 

And, a reminder… the staff at the Information Desk and the Government Documents office are available to help you with your research needs, environment-related or otherwise!

Earth Day 2009 display

Celebrate National Library Week!

 

This week, the over 123,000 libraries around the country are celebrating National Library Week [April 12-18]. In Briggs Library, you will find signs and banners as well as a display outside the Government Documents office on the lower level. The display features information about our nation’s library, the Library of Congress, and also provides a selection of the Library’s publications.

The Library of Congress was founded in 1800 and originally located in the U.S. capitol building. It has grown to be the largest library in the world, currently holding nearly 142 million items in its collection, 32 million of which are in print. The Library also employs a permanent staff of 3,637 employees. In comparison, Briggs Library holds only 926,000 print items and has a staff of 32.

To find more publications by the Library of Congress, feel free to browse the ‘LC’ call number section of the Government Documents shelving. For more information about the Library of Congress, please ask us or visit http://www.loc.gov to browse the Library’s resources, view its virtual displays and collections, and learn more about America’s library.

We’ll conclude this posting about National Library Week with a few facts courtesy the American Library Association:
 Reference librarians in the nation’s public and academic libraries answer more than 7.2 million questions weekly. Standing single file, the line of questioners would stretch from New York City to Juneau, Alaska.
 63% of adults in the U.S. have public library cards.
 There are more public libraries than McDonald’s in the U.S. – a total of 16,549, including branches.
 Americans go to school, public and academic libraries 50% more often than they go to the movies.
 The planned national events for the week include the release of the annual “State of America’s Libraries” report , National Library Workers Day on Tuesday (Libraries Work Because We Do!), the release of the 2008 list of the ‘Top Ten Most Challenged Books’ on Wednesday, and ‘Support Teen Literature Day’ on Thursday.

Briggs Library’s Catalog for Books is Down Aug 11-15

The library system that is used throughout the state of South Dakota is being upgraded to a new and improved version during the week of August 11-15. That means that our catalog will not be available for searching that week. We have access to another database that contains our book collection as well as those of many other libraries that you can search if you are in need of books during this week. The Books link under the Find category on our homepage will link you to that database. You can use a more advanced search in the same database by going to the Articles and Databases link next to the Books link and going to WorldCat Advanced on the Articles and Databases page. If you have questions, please contact the information desk at 688-5570 or blref@sdstate.edu.

~Elizabeth Fox, Digital Information Services Librarian

Did You Know …. Documents Databases Rock!

Did ya know? Do ya care? Of course you should. Yes indeed, the Information Highway can be a bit easier to navigate with government databases just a few keystrokes and clicks away. Federal government information is available not only from agency web sites, but also from a multitude of federally sponsored databases, or search engines. Interested in medicine? Try the National Library of Medicine! Search tools include MedlinePlus, Clinical Trials, DailyMed, and PubMed. Topics covered range from basic consumer information to scholarly scientific and medical research. And oh yes, much is available full text online. BONUS!!!!!!!!!!

If you’re interested in energy topics, try the Department of Energy’s Information Bridge. Scientific and technical information is at your fingertips. From 1991 forward, many full text documents and bibliographic citations of the Department of Energy’s research reports literature awaits your discovery.

For a number of federal databases related to the presidency, legislature, and judiciary, try GPO ACCESS! GPO Access is one stop shopping for the US Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, Core Documents of Democracy, Bills, Laws, the Catalog of Government Publications and much, much more.

Some government databases are only available in the library or on campus. Our most recent addition is the Homeland Security Digital Library. Want flood information? Check it out with your friendly Documents Librarian. Want technical reports, try the NTIS. The National Technical Information Service links to bibliographic records and full text (when available) to over 240,000 reports from 1961-2000. Ask for assistance in the Documents Office or at the Information Desk.

For more government search engines check out “Finding Government Information: Federal Databases“.

Happy Surfing! AND Rock On!

Vickie Mix, Documents Librarian