Research Blog : central library

Central's anniversary celebration SUNDAY features mini-golf, Book Cart Drill Team, & more!

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:59:00 GMT

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Starting with a press conference on Thursday, September 17, we've been honoring Central Library's 5th anniversary with some special events. Our Film Festival wraps up this afternoon with a showing of Citizen Kane. On Saturday, we'll be hosting a Poetry Festival.

On Sunday, party with us at Central Library's Anniversary Celebration! There will be activities & entertainment for all ages to enjoy.

How many times have you had the urge to play mini-golf in the library? Satisfy that urge on Sunday, when we'll have 18 holes of mini-golf set up in Central's stacks (on the 1st & 2nd floors)! And don't worry...there won't be any water hazards. Get your golf game on from 1-5pm.

Enjoy some food & music in the café garden from 1-4:30pm. We'll be grilling hot dogs & hamburgers!

Over 20 cakes will be on display in the lobby from 1-3:30pm as part of our Cake Decorating Contest. Vote for your favorite! Winners will be announced shortly before 4pm, and the cakes (& punch) will be served from 4-5pm.

Nothing will prepare you for our Book Cart Drill Team's first public performance at 2:30pm in the lobby! With epic choreography & drama, the team will recreate a famous battle from literature (& a recent movie trilogy). With book carts.

We'll also have a scavenger hunt & appearances by literary actors (can you guess who they are?) throughout the celebration.

There will be something for everyone at Sunday's Anniversary Celebration. Hope to see you then!

Additional Computer Basics Class Added for October First

Bufkinite@evpl — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:12:00 GMT

Due to the fact that all three computer basics classes filled up very quickly, EVPL has added an additional class to the fall schedule, for October 1st, from 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.

This class will teach you all you need to know to get started using a computer without fear, and includes learning to use the mouse and keyboard, how to open different programs, and how to use the Microsoft Windows operating system.

You'll also learn the difference between hardware and software, and a little of the history of how computers developed from the first machines, which took up entire buildings but had less computing power than an iPod, to the laptop and handheld computers of today.

Registration information for this class can be found here.

Information about other computer classes can be found here.

Please pardon our mess: Parking deck repairs at Central Library

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:32:00 GMT

Due to repairs to the parking deck, portions of Central Library's parking lot will be closed at varying times until mid-November or when construction is complete.

Parking is still available in Central's underground parking garage. The entrance is slightly east of the parking lot entrance on Chestnut Street.

Also, due to the limited parking availability, new meeting room reservations for the Browning Events Room will not be accepted until the repairs are complete.

Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience and intermittent noise. Please contact library administration with any questions or comments you may have.

Vacation on a budget...

SuDocQueen@evpl — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:38:00 GMT

Nowadays everyone’s talking about staycations. This reminded me of the wonderful vacations my parents took me on even when we had to watch every penny. How’d we do it? By visiting our National Parks and State Parks (and camping, but that’s a whole ‘nother story). Most parks have entrance fees for an entire passenger car that are cheaper than an individual ticket to Disney World.

Starting in the winter my parents would send away for scads of pamphlets and maps of parks like the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest, and Slide Rock State Park. Planning early is still a good idea but now it’s even easier. All you have to do is go to www.nps.gov. From there you can learn about every national park in the country. They have a great search tool on that front page. Just click on the state you’re interested in visiting and you’ll get a list of all the parks in that state. But what if you know the name of a park but not what state it’s in? No problem. Click on the “Advanced SearchTool and Map.” From there scroll below the map and you’ll see a great browser tool that will let you pick your park by name, location, preferred activity, or even topic (like mountains or volcanoes or coral reefs).

But what about state parks? Well, if there’s a site out there that pulls all state parks under one “roof” I haven’t found it yet, but putting “state parks (insert the state name of your choice)” into Google does a terrific job of pulling up each state’s website.

And, if you’re at Central Library stop by and take a look at some of the books and pamphlets the National Parks Service still puts out. We have a whole series of pamphlets on the Blue Ridge Parkway trails. Just ask one of us about Call # I 29.149. Or if you’re interested in the historic details of sites, you might want to take a look in our I 29.88 area. Those are historic structure and site reports on places like Fire Island Lighthouse, the Eleanor Roosevelt Historic Site, and Antietam National Battlefield.

Beat the Heat by Coming to EVPL!

PotionsMaster@evpl — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:26:00 GMT

This is the second day of a Heat Advisory for this area. Sure, we all feel drained and listless, not to mention that any kind of physical movement makes a person break out into sweat. But especially in the Ohio River Valley heat can cause more problems than sticky underarms. People especially at risk are the elderly, young children, and anybody who must work outside. Check the Weather Channel and weather.com for updates and further information. Here's what to watch for:

Severe Sunburns: It might not seem like a major heat related health issue, but it is. When the skin is reddened and burned, it loses the ability to drain heat away from the core of the body; blood that runs close to the surface in order to cool down isn't able to because the skin itself is overheated! Have you ever seen some poor fellow who looks like a boiled lobster after a day on the beach? That's a severe sunburn. The peeling that will happen will be spectacular. Hope that poor person doesn't wind up with sun poisoning and blisters from the burn.

How to Treat: Their best bet is to stay out of the sun in a cool spot, keep applying that aloe vera gel, and to keep hydrated. (Keeping hydrated will be a theme.)

Heat Exhaustion: This term gets bandied around alot with 'Heat Stroke', but they are not interchangable words for the same thing. Symptoms of heat exhaustion are weakness, nausea, heavy sweating, fainting, clammy and cold skin (do not be fooled! Cold skin does NOT mean cool internal temperatures!), and for those who are medically inclined to check the pulse, it will be weak and thready. This is actually a mild form of shock. Heat exhaustion can occur when working outside for extended periods of time when the weather is hot and humid. If not recognized and treated appropriately, it can and probably will lead up to heat stroke.

How to Treat: Get out of the sun, drink cool water (not ice cold), loosen clothing, rest for the remainder of the day, and stay away from protein-heavy foods. Ice water will feel like a kick in the gut and might cause cramping, while foods laden with protein (cheese, meat, milk, the like) will cause blood to flow to the intestinal tract and kick up the core body temperature in order to digest. High internal temperatures are what we are trying to avoid. Call the doctor if vomitting happens.

Heat Stroke: It's no joke. Seriously. The body shuts down your internal air conditioning unit, in short. The body ceases to sweat, and that can cause the internal temperature to skyrocket to deadly temperatures. The heat can rise so high, it is possible to cause brain damage. (If you think a sunburn feels like you're cooking, be thankful you have not experienced this kind of heat.) Look for red, hot and dry skin, throbbing headache, strong, fast pulse, dizziness, confusion, nausea, and worst: unconsciousness. If not treated immediately, death can occur within 10-15 minutes.

How to Treat: Call 911. Then try to cool the body any way possible, as fast as possible: strip the clothing, give a sponge bath with cool water, run a fan on the person's body. If outdoors, move victim to shade, strip clothing, and run water from a hose on the body. DO NOT GIVE FLUIDS.

So what can a person do to avoid these terrible health risks? First step is come to the library! Two words: Air Conditioning. This is especially helpful if you do not have air conditioning in your own home. Even if you only come for a few hours, when you go back out into the heat, your body will be able to handle the stress of it a bit better.

Second step: Hydrate yourself. If your body does not have enough moisture for it to sweat, you are on the fast track for heat stroke. Sweating cools the body by evaporating beads of moisture off of the skin. This is the first air conditioning the world knew about, and one of the most effective and environmentally safe ones, too. (Some people's noses might disagree, though!) After air wicks away the sweat, the skin is cooled, which cools the blood in the vessels close to the skin. The cooled blood then circulates around the body, cooling the internal temperatures, and then bringing more hot blood back to the skin in order to become cooler again. It's a beautiful system. The more water you drink, the easier it is for your blood to flow, as well. And it all relates back to making your sweating system more efficient.

Step three: whether you have electric air conditioning or not, keep those electric fans on and that air moving. Moving air evaporates water faster than stagnant air. This is why if you are sweating profusely it feels so good to stand in front of a fan. It's ok to talk into the fan, too, if you're alone...it distorts your voice and you can pretend to be an alien or an announcer. Other tips are to keep your front door and drapes closed; sun coming in through a window can increase the temperature in your house, wilt your plants, and make your AC and fans work harder. Closing the drapes will help your electric bill stay somewhat lower.

If you absolutely must go out, here are a few tips. Wear light colored, light fabric, loose clothing. Light colors in the spectrum bounce sun rays off and away, as opposed to dark colors, which absorb. This is why people with black, dark brown, and navy blue colored cars always have every window and door open in the parking lot when they first open them up in the summer. (I am one of those silly people...my car is black.) Central Library does have an underground parking level to for those who don't want to bake their car seats.

Slow down and don't over exert yourself, particularly in the middle of the day. This is a great excuse to anybody: "I must slow down and not exert myself, especially in the middle of the day, on a day like today; the heat index is says it feels like blah blah degrees, and I don't want to risk getting heat exhaustion. Let's go to the Library and get out of this heat." This next tip should be a no-brainer, but people do forget: wear sunscreen. Preferably with a high SPF. Getting a sunburn is uncomfortable and we've already been over why else it is bad.

Last tip; no prizes for those who can guess what it is: HYDRATE. Drink cool water, or Gatorade/Powerade/Vitamin Water, but especially WATER. This cannot be stressed enough. The body is 70% water and most Americans are chronically dehydrated. People find that if they take a sip or two of water during the day instead of reaching for a snack, that water is what their body wanted in the first place anyway. People confuse 'thirst' with 'hunger', mainly because you feel 'empty' with both.

The Cup and Chaucer here at Central has a cooler full of drinks for those who would like a refreshing thirst-quencher while they are enjoying the comfortable chairs and cool air when in the stacks. Who knows? By the time you finish your book, the heat advisory might be over. And you'll know exactly where to go when the next one pops up.

Bird Jammin'

wag.mado@evpl — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:08:00 GMT

The Reference Department at Central Library often gets questions regarding animal behavior. One recent question was "Can a giraffe lick its ear with its tongue?" On any given day, we have to be prepared for those perplexing questions that need to be answered. One of you out there may be wondering if animals can dance. Well, read on and see for yourself.

According to a new study from the Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla California, humans are not the only ones who have a sense of rhythm. Some birds, dolphins, elephants and seals might be able to move to a beat and actually dance. One of the subjects studied by scientist Aniruddh Patel and his colleagues was a cockatoo named Snowball. Snowball actually lives in Indiana at Bird Lovers Only Rescue. He appears to prefer rock music - especially The Backstreet Boys. You may have seen Snowball on YouTube. He not only moves his head, but his feet and other body parts to the beat of music.

In another study at Harvard University, researcher Adena Schachner and colleagues studied thousands of dancing animals on YouTube and concluded that several species of parrots and elephants have the ability to perform synchronized movements in accordance with various musical beats.

Snowball was one of the favorites in both studies. And after viewing his videos, you will know why.

Out of these studies came a theory that the ability to dance is related to a propensity for mimicking sounds vocally - that somehow the two are interconnected. What about elephants? Well, they have been known to mimic sounds in their environment also.

So, there's your answer - although additional studies are needed to prove the above theory.

Oh, and by the way - the answer to the giraffe question is yes. The length of a giraffe tongue is about 18-20 inches!

Read more about animal behavior by checking out these books. Or, contact us today with one of your own questions.

Local Yearbooks at EVPL...

SuDocQueen@evpl — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:11:00 GMT

Just this week I was helping a library user who was very grateful, but surprised to discover we had a collection of local yearbooks. Their surprise and gratitude made me wonder how many others out there aren't aware of this wonderful resource.

So for those who didn't know or have forgotten, yes, we have a very nice collection of local yearbooks in our Indiana Room at Central. Made up primarily of high school yearbooks, the collection also boasts some local college yearbooks and even a couple for elementary/middle schools. Looking at them can be a hilarious and poignant walk down memory lane as well as a handy resource for those doing research.

Now, before you rush downtown to view yourself in all your high school glory, I need to give you a couple of caveats. First, be sure the Indiana Room is open before you make the trip here (if that's the only reason you're coming to Central). The Indiana Room is only open when our Special Collections Librarian can be present to help you with your research, so be sure to check here for the Room's hours of operation.

And, the second caveat, before rushing down, you might also want to make sure we have the yearbook you're interested in. Our collection has been built from donations and unfortunately we are missing some years for all the schools. Here is the list of those books we have.

Speaking of those missing years, we're always looking to fill those holes and continue to grow the collection. If in your spring cleaning you run across an old yearbook you no longer want and wonder what to do with it, donate it to us! We'd be thrilled to have it.

Upcoming Workshops for Employers and HR People

Bufkinite@evpl — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:27:00 GMT

A series of three workshops taking place in April will address issues all employers must address when looking to hire new employees. The workshops are co-sponsored by Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library’s Business Central and the Evansville Branch of Manpower. Beth Delano, Branch Manager of Manpower, and Steve Cochran, Reference Services Supervisor at EVPL’s Central Library, will lead all of the workshops. All three workshops begin at 9:00 a.m., and take place in the Large Group Room on the second floor of Central Library.

Registration is required for all workshops, and is limited to 20 participants. You can register online now!

April 15^th: Writing Successful Position Descriptions

The best way to attract the most highly qualified applicants to your business is to have well written job descriptions that spell out in detail the qualifications sought and responsibilities entailed. This one hour workshop will cover how to format position descriptions, why formal job descriptions are something you should have, and address issues with ADA compliance.

You’ll also learn about library resources available for developing formal job descriptions, including online resources available through the library's web site.

April 22^nd: Hiring Right the First Time

It’s estimated that the hiring and training of an employee costs the employer the equivalent of one and a half times the employee’s annual earnings, so hiring an employee to doesn’t stick around can be a very expensive proposition. The first workshop in this series looked at how to develop position descriptions that target the talent you’re looking for.

This one hour workshop will take the next step, outlining how to market those position descriptions so that you get the best applicants available in the pool, how to look at review resumes to match qualifications with expectations, and give you tips for interviewing that will reveal the candidate best suited to your position.

You’ll also learn about library resources and tools that address recruiting, interviewing, and hiring.

April 29^th: Retaining Employees

The first two sessions of this series showed participants how to write position descriptions to attract the best candidates, and how to then recruit, vet, and interview those candidates to hire the very best person for each position.

The final workshop in this series will examine strategies employers can use to retain high-performing employees, including developing retention-focused managers, being aware of generational differences in work style, engaging employees in challenging responsibilities, and developing a recognition program.

You’ll also be shown library resources and tools that address motivating, challenging, retaining, and recognizing employees.

Business Central Now Open For...(wait for it)...Business!!

Bufkinite@evpl — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:21:00 GMT

On Wednesday, October 15th, the Metropolitian Evansville Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting on the second floor of Central Library to open a new, business-focused area of Central's reference and non-fiction collections.

Business Central is many things:

It's a place within Central Library, on the second floor. This location gathers legal and business reference materials, and a cooperating collection of the Foundation Center, with numberous reference resources for finding grants for non-profit and not-for-profit corporations. It also offers an extensive circulating collection of materials dealing with management, commerce, international commerce, marketing, public relations, customer relations, finance, planning, and career development and advancement.

It's a web presence with the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library web site that links to resources within the library and on the web that have to do with everything from starting a business to managing time, money, and personnel.

It's a team of library professionals who know business and the information needs of entrepreneurs and business professionals.

So whether you've already got a business up and running or are planning to start one; whether you're looking for capital or strategic planning information; whether you're doing in-depth market research, or just wanting to stay abreast of current business and economic trends, Business Central is your destination for business information!

Early Voting begins today

myzticrhythmz@evpl — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:28:00 GMT

Beginning today and running through October 31, Vanderburgh County residents may vote early at several of our EVPL locations: Central Library, McCollough Branch, North Park Branch, Oaklyn Branch, and Red Bank Branch. The hours are Monday through Thursday, 1:00-7:00 PM, and on Friday from 1:00 to 5:00 PM.

A sample ballot may be found at the Evansville Courier's Web site, http://www.courierpress.com/voterguide/, and Vanderburgh County's ballot may be found on the County Clerk's Web site at http://www.vanderburghgov.org/Index.aspx?page=1943 .

New support for your charitable cause

dsrs@evpl — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 19:37:00 GMT

SO... you have a great idea for making Evansville a better place to live but no clue of how to get a grassroots effort started...

The Foundation Center now offers free training webinars for nonprofit organizations through its website, http://foundationcenter.org. Click on a topic that interests you to learn more about the course and to see the scheduled instruction times. Some of these sessions are being offered in Spanish, which should be of interest to our growing Spanish speaking community. The webinars will change periodically, so check back occasionally. If a group is interested in a participating in one of these webinars in the Central Library Tech Center, let's talk about it at AskEVPL.

When you're ready to begin looking for project funding, come to Central Library to log into the Foundation Directory Online. You'll have access to searchable information on over 92,000 foundations, corporate donors, and grantmaking public charities, including those that are located right here in the Tri-State area. Because EVPL is a Foundation Center Cooperating Collection, use of this database won't cost a thing.