EVPL Communities: SuDocQueen@evpl's Blog Posts

Evansville's small claim to fame in the 1918 Great Pandemic & a tip for 2009 flu clinics in Evansville

SuDocQueen@evpl — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:07:00 G11T

Posted to the Research Blog on EVPL Communities. View the original post at http://evpl.org/community/blogs/research/archive/2009/11/10/the-great-pandemic-of-1918-and-evansville-s-small-claim-to-fame.aspx to post your comments!

Thanks to a very interesting question today, I discovered a surprising fact. Evansville was involved in Indiana's first official report on the Spanish influenza. According to http://1918.pandemicflu.gov/your_state/indiana.htm, in the "first official report from the state...officials reported that an epidemic had developed in Evansville beginning in the last week of September." By October, "state officials were forced to admit that 'the disease has been reported from a number of places' in the state," but Evansville carries the distinction of being the first city in Indiana to be officially stricken with the epidemic. I don't know whether you consider that good or bad, but I certainly found it surprising to learn that our city had a specific place in the history of the Great Pandemic.

I also found the website fascinating. Coming from The Office of the Public Health Service Historian, the site offers a good overview of the Pandemic in the United States -- be sure to always click on "more"; each general topic only shows the tip of information being offered. One can get a snapshot picture of average life in the US in 1918 as well as detailed information on the Pandemic's effects in each state; for example Indiana officially reported 154,600 cases while historians and epidemiologists now believe the count was closer to 350,000 cases. Along with bibliographies for books and websites, biographies on people central to the Pandemic, and examples of media resources from the time it's a very comprehensive picture of the 1918 Pandemic.

If you're more interested in the current flu situation, the site's main page also includes a link to www.pandemicflu.gov. That site helpfully pops up in a new window so you can continue browsing the historical information as well. One last discovery I have to mention, while browsing the current flu site, I discovered that the Vanderburgh County Health Department offers email notification for H1N1 Vaccination clinics! The notification comes through a catch-all category called "special events," so who knows what kind of notices a person may receive later on, but it could be worth not having to constantly check the department website or listen to the news all the time.

November is National Diabetes Month

SuDocQueen@evpl — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:07:00 G11T

Posted to the Research Blog on EVPL Communities. View the original post at http://evpl.org/community/blogs/research/archive/2009/11/05/november-is-national-diabetes-month.aspx to post your comments!

Considering the prevalance of diabetes in America today, I suspect the disease has touched many, many families in the Evansville and tri-state area. It is certainly a topic near and dear to my heart since I have had family members and friends afflicted with both Type 1 and Type II. For those who have never encountered diabetes, or those newly diagnosed, it can be a frightening disease. So what better time to learn more about the disease than during the month dedicated to it?

To be honest, it had slipped my mind that November was National Diabetes Month until I got an email update from www.usa.gov talking about it -- check out www.usa.gov's website to find out about all the great email updates and RSS feeds people can sign-up for. The email included a great link to their FAQ section on diabetes. That section in turn offers several ways to get information on diabetes. They include phone, address, and email for the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse as well as several links for different websites like National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, National Diabetes Education Program, and the American Diabetes Association.

You can find even more online information from www.usa.gov by browsing or keyword searching from the website's main page. To browse, scroll down the main page until you see "Health and Nutrition." Clicking will take you to a further breakdown of the subject. Scroll down to "Health Topics A-Z" and click. Then click on "D" and scroll down until you get to "Diabetes." You'll see about twelve different topics on diabetes from diabetes and pregnancy to diabetic diet, kidney problems or even nerve problems. Each topic leads to great information from Medline Plus that includes additional links on things like prevention, related issues, and research as well as links to videos, tutorials, and pictures where available.

You can also do a keyword search on diabetes by typing the term into the search box at the top of www.usa.gov's main screen. You'll get a results page reminiscent of Google but without all the extraneous hits from questionable websites. The neatest part of the results page is the topic breakdown on the left-hand side of the page. The topic list is a breakdown of the search results into individual topics. The numbers in parenthesis indicate how many hits your search had under that topic, and the plus button to the right indicates that the topic can be broken down even farther. Clicking on the plus button will show that further breakdown while clicking on the topic itself will change the results list to the hits for just that topic. Also, take a look at the Agencies breakdown. If you didn't know, www.usa.gov searches state as well as federal websites. Looking at "Agencies" will give you a concise picture of the places your results are coming from. For example my "diabetes" search showed that the majority of my results came from the National Institutes of Health, but if you click to see "All" results for Agencies, you can scroll down and discover that Indiana has a page on diabetes coming from the IHS Division of Diabetes Treatment and Prevention.

If you're not on information overload yet, or if you prefer your information in a more tangible format, EVPL has an amazing collection of print material on diabetes ranging from books on the disease, complications, and diet to cookbooks for the diabetic. My simple keyword search using the term diabetes then limiting to books turned up over 400 books. Or, if you'd like to see magazine articles you can go back to the computer, go to our databases, and select a general database like Masterfile Premier, (see it under our list of "Popular Databases" or find it through our "Alphabetical Sequence") and do a keyword search for articles on diabetes. You can also choose "Category Sequence" and click on Health and Medicine to see a list of databases that will narrow your search to just medical journals.

Is there a silver lining to knowing in advance that you're going to lose your job?

SuDocQueen@evpl — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:29:00 G9T

Posted to the Research Blog on EVPL Communities. View the original post at http://evpl.org/community/blogs/research/archive/2009/09/22/is-there-a-silver-lining-to-knowing-in-advance-that-you-re-going-to-loose-your-job.aspx to post your comments!

When faced with that imminent pink slip I would think it would be hard to see any upside to the situation, but I read an article on MSN.com a few days ago that made lemonade out of losing a job. The article was primarily pointing out the famous businesses (like Microsoft) that had been started during similar past recessions, and pointing out that a few of those very founders had been laid-off workers thanks to their recessions. Now, I'm not advocating that everyone who's lost their job go out and start their own business. That's very hard work. You can learn more about the involved process and if it's for you at www.sba.gov.

But, the article did get me thinking about another silver lining that's been pointed out regarding losing one's current career and having difficulty finding a new job in the same field, the opportunity to explore a new, possibly even more enjoyable, career. And that is the only silver lining I can see in knowing ahead of time that you're losing your job...the opportunity to plan ahead, to get those applications out, or explore other possibilities while you still have an income.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration is a good source of online resources for exploring new careers, dealing with job loss, and learning about financial support while pursuing career training. Some of the information they offer is generated directly on their website, but the majority of the information is accessed through links to other sites they are affiliated with, such as O*NET and Career One Stop.

O*NET stands for the Occupational Information Network. The service was started through a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor (learn more about O*NET's origins and the organizations behind its continued development and implementation). When you visit O*NET be prepared to spend some time. The site offers a vast array of information for job searchers and employers. The main page (O*NET OnLine) is a tad intimidating. On one hand I found the O*NET Resource Center to be a nicer place to start. It gives explanations of all the tools available through O*NET, but once you get off the introductory page there isn't a quick and obvious way back to O*NET's main page -- you have to click "OnLine" from the left hand list of links (under Products) and from there click on O*NET OnLine.

Now, I did like the Interest and Ability Profilers from the Resource Center better than the Skills Search available from O*NET OnLine. For those of us who are clueless about what we'd be good at these Interest and Ability tests are designed to give us some insight into "our work related interests." Note, when you're looking at the drop-down menu, if you want to take the tests via computer, you'll need to choose "Computerized Interest Profiler." Otherwise all you'll get are PDFs that will need to be printed out so you can take the tests by hand. Also be aware that if you want to take the computerized version, you will need to download software for it. The download was quick and painless and I thought it well worth it not to have to fill out and then tabulate the tests by hand.

You can also skip the Profiles and the Resource Center all together and just search O*NET OnLine. That's a good idea when you're already sure of the jobs you're interested in. You can search for a specific job; you can find out what jobs are most in demand within industries; you can broaden your search by choosing a career group ("education, training & library" rather than "librarian" for example) -- that will give you a larger results list in comparison to the specific job title search; and you can search for a job by how much preparation (training) you're willing to put in -- from a little to a lot. These aren't the only choices for searching, but they are the most obvious.

I did a search for the job title "editor." That brought up obvious choices like technical writers and editors and less obvious choices like order clerks -- I guess order clerks sometimes have to edit mistakes on orders that come into them... The breadth of the list is nice to help remind the searcher that they don't have to be locked into one interpretation of their career choice. Another of O*NET's nice touches is the "Indemand" label. It clues the searcher to which jobs are expected to grow in the coming months/years.

Once you choose a career/job to look at, you get a report that includes a summary of a dozen aspects of the career such as expected tasks, knowledge needed, and wages & employment. There's also a more detailed report of all those aspects as well as a custom version that allows the searcher to view the results depending on what aspects are important to the searcher.

Beyond that information, you can also find out about the job's prospects in each state, but that takes you to Career One Stop, and at this point I think that needs to be a separate blog.

Do you stand in front of your closet every morning wondering what will fit, not what do I want to wear?

SuDocQueen@evpl — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 09:55:00 G9T

Posted to the Research Blog on EVPL Communities. View the original post at http://evpl.org/community/blogs/research/archive/2009/09/10/do-you-stand-in-front-of-your-closet-wondering-what-will-fit-not-what-do-i-want-to-wear.aspx to post your comments!

Here's my dirty little secret; I've been doing that all summer. To look at me no one would say I have a weight problem, but thanks to sports injuries and other medical issues this summer, I've been sidelined from my normal active lifestyle. Sprawling on the chaise lounge and reading instead of chasing a fuzzy green ball across the tennis court and doing yard work has been a surprisingly enjoyable change. Unfortunately, I didn't change my eating habits along with my reduction in activity and the inches have been creeping on. Every morning when I reach for the elastic waist pants I tell myself 'this is it, gotta cut back', but each night I eat my healthy, delicious, home-grown cherry tomatoes, and still reach for the French Fried Onion rings (ever get one of those big bags from one of the warehouse stores?). Since even my "fat cloths" are getting tight, it's time to get serious.

Counting calories and making a point of skipping the junk food is the best way to do that, but that can be boring (yeah, like that's an excuse -- but what can I say). Doing the right thing can be easier when it's also fun, and I know just the place to go www.mypyramid.gov. Be prepared for a near information overload. Designed and run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the site's main page has so many links to useful information that you hardly know where to start. There are waaay too many of them for me to go through here, but I do want to tell you about my favorite, www.mypyramidtracker.gov.

You start out by telling the Tracker your age, weight, and height (why fudge? No one but the computer will know and if you don't tell the truth, later you won't get an accurate breakdown of what nutrition you need). Next you're asked to list all the foods you ate for the day, then the number of servings. After that the Tracker will analyze your intake for the day and shoot you to a page where you can choice to see if you met the 2005 Dietary Guidelines -- they use cute little emoticons as well as showing you the amount you actually ate and the amount that is recommended; you can see your nutrient breakdown for the day -- you get your total calories consumed along with a breakdown of your fats, proteins, and vitamins; you get "Pyramid stats" which show you graphically whether you got your recommended daily amount of milk, meat, veggies, grains, etc; and lastly you can view your "healthy eating history by day, month, up to a year -- this is assuming you've registered and have faithfully input your eating habits for a while.

Registration is free or you can use "check it out" daily without registering. I think the benefit of registering is that you can save your information for at least a year in order to track how well you're doing. Plus, you won't be able to access your "check it out" information from the whole day if you don't use the same computer all day -- no adding breakfast and lunch at your work computer then going home and adding dinner. You'd have to start from scratch adding your entire food intake for the whole day. Frankly, I think the benefits of seeing how your eating habits change over time is well worth the registration.

Plusses and minuses of the Tracker...well, today I couldn't find Velveeta sliced cheese, so I had to compensate with the next best thing (American/cheddar cheese, processed), but I could choose one slice as my serving size. Plus, I could add plain M&M's and select as few as 10 pieces as my serving size! The Tracker strives to offer a huge range of foods to choose from, from simple foods like bananas to restaurant food like McD's Big Mac. And they have very flexible serving sizes, from a whole apple (and you can even choose large or medium) to a slice as a serving size. My only real quibble is that they don't show you the calories for your individual foods. I like to know how many calories those 10 M&Ms are verses one (or two) Hershey's Kisses so I know which food choice will be cheaper calorie-wise when I'm limiting my sweets intake.

I won't bore you with the anal way I figure that out on my own, but I will tell you about a book that I absolutely love "The Calorie King Calorie Fat and Carbohydrate Counter" (613.23 CALOR 2009). I looked up M&Ms in the book, and it actually told me how many calories there were in one M&M! Okay, okay it only told me the calories for the plain M&M. It didn't go on and do the same for the peanut, almond, or peanut butter, but I was still impressed. Plus, it not only tells you the calories, it also gives the fat and carbohydrate counts. The book covers the normal basic foods -- like meat, breads, fruits veggies, etc -- and an amazing array of sweets (like M&Ms) as well as a huge section on restaurant foods. I found the Outback, O-Charley's, Sizzler, Red Lobster along with the usual suspects like McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell. Starbucks was even in there. Do you really want to know how many calories your favorite frappuccino are costing you?

If all our copies of Calorie King are checked out, there's always the Reference copy you can use here, or you can try any of these other calorie counting books.

I'd like to talk more about www.mypyramid.gov but if I do that, this'll become a novel rather than a blog -- it's already leaning in that direction -- so just check it out on your own. If you have any questions on using it, pipe up here or give us a call at Reference!

Would you like to work for the federal government?

SuDocQueen@evpl — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:04:00 G8T

Posted to the Research Blog on EVPL Communities. View the original post at http://evpl.org/community/blogs/research/archive/2009/08/25/would-you-like-to-work-for-the-federal-government.aspx to post your comments!

If so, take a look at www.usajobs.gov.

This is a great resource for people interested in working for our federal government. On their main page this morning they showed 33,530 jobs available worldwide with the United States government. Now before your jaw hits the floor and you start drooling on your keyboard, let's do a reality check and remember that none of us are qualified for all 33,000 jobs. They're sure not going to hire me as a NASA engineer. And, I don't think I want to fill a librarian position in Timbuktu - okay, when I did a search for librarian positions, I didn't see any in Timbuktu, but you get the picture. :-)

The search was easy as pie. I just typed librarian into the search box right under "Search Jobs" on the main page and hit "Run Search." 14 positions popped up. With the exception of a couple all were positions looking for actual librarians, and even the two that weren't were for positions with the Library of Congress. For example, one was for a General Engineer working out of the Office of the Librarian; maybe a position similar to EVPL's building manager?

That was the simplest search. You can customize your search by clicking on the "Search Jobs" tab on the main page. From there, you can narrow your search by choices like agency, occupation, and location, to name a few.

Say you'd like a job with the government, but you don't know what job you'd enjoy. They have an area to help you with that as well. I couldn't find a direct link from the main page, but I saw links to it from the Search page and the Information Center page. Once you're on either page, look for the Career Interest Center and click on the "learn more." From there you'll find a list of subjects that lead to interactive questionnaires that will help you figure out what job would be right for you.

What else? Too much to go over everything in what's supposed to be a "short" blog. :-) But, two last things I've got to mention before I go. Be sure to check out the "My USAJOBS" tab. You'll be able to create your own account which will allow you to post your resume (I thought I read somewhere on the site you could post even more than one), apply for the jobs online, and receive email updates tailored to jobs that you're interested in.

And the other "thing," be sure to play around with the "Information Center" page. Among the many services it offers, it provides help in understanding the convoluted federal hiring process. You can get help creating your resume. There's also an area where you can find out about the top agencies hiring, the most popular jobs, the areas in the country looking for the most jobs, etc.

The Health Care Reform Act turmoil

SuDocQueen@evpl — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:33:00 G8T

Posted to the Research Blog on EVPL Communities. View the original post at http://evpl.org/community/blogs/research/archive/2009/08/18/the-health-care-reform-act-turmoil.aspx to post your comments!

Opinions and concerns abound about this issue, sometimes to the point that the facts get obscured. Can I separate all the facts from the fiction? Nope, I can be duped and sucked in as easily as the next person. But I can tell you where to go to form your own opinions undiluted by anyone else with an agenda. Thomas from the Library of Congress is an excellent site for following legislation and the workings of Congress. As a matter of fact, Thomas has made it easy for people right now. You don't even have to search for the House's health care bill. They've put up a direct link on the very front of their website. From that link, you can then read a summary of the bill, see what Committees it's been referred to, see who is sponsoring it, and read the bill word for word yourself. Be warned, the bill's over 1,000 pages long and very dense to read! That doesn't mean I think it's not worth reading; I'm just saying don't expect to skim through it on your lunch hour unless you belong to Mensa. :)

You can also get some very useful links from Congressman Brad Ellsworth's "Online Office." He has the PDF of the full bill, just as Thomas does, but he additionally has links to the committee work being done on the bill.

And while we're talking Congressmen, if you want to share your opinion, do you know who to share yours with? Indiana's Senators are Evan Bayh and Richard Lugar, while Evansville's Congressman is Brad Ellsworth.

Lastly, here's on other place I like to go when I'm inundated with opinions, http://factcheck.org/. They appear non-partisan to me. They've debunked pro and con statements surrounding the health care debate. And, their website/services don't exist solely for the health care debate (it just looks that way right now :). Take a look at their Archives or Ask Factcheck to see some of the other political issues they address.

Be A Smarter Consumer

SuDocQueen@evpl — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:39:00 G8T

Posted to the Research Blog on EVPL Communities. View the original post at http://evpl.org/community/blogs/research/archive/2009/08/06/be-a-smarter-consumer.aspx to post your comments!

That's what it says on the front of the 2009 Consumer Action Handbook, and that's what this book is trying to help us all become. Created by the GSA ( U.S. General Services Administration) Federal Citizen Information Center in conjunction with several other federal agencies and corporations, the book offers a multitude of useful information and resources for the in-the-know and the wanting-to-know consumer.

The book breaks into IV sections. The first gives detailed tips for consumers on subjects that range from buying a car or TV to choosing health insurance and a doctor to how to protect oneself against identity theft and how to handle wills and funerals. The subjects are too numerous to completely list here, but each topic is addressed fully. The second section offers advice for filing a complaint, how to use Dispute Resolution Programs, and covers Small Claims Court as well as contacts for reporting fraud and safety hazards. The third part lists additional sources for consumer information, and the fourth is a long list of direct contacts for assistance from the government and corporate America.

We have two circulating copies of this little gem as well as a reference copy here at Central. Or, since those of you reading this obviously have computer access, if you prefer you can get the same information from the www.ConsumerAction.gov website. If the website's information seems too chaotic and you'd prefer the information displayed the same way it would be in the book, you can use the PDF from the website instead. One nice little extra on the website is the Consumer News section. It's a box situated on the right hand side of the main page and offers links to events of consumer interest like "Kolcraft Recalls 1 Million Play Yards Due to Fall Hazard" or "Five Tax Facts About Summertime Child Care Expenses."

Cash for Clunkers…or the CARS Program: what you should know before you walk into a dealership

SuDocQueen@evpl — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:15:00 G7T

Posted to the Research Blog on EVPL Communities. View the original post at http://evpl.org/community/blogs/research/archive/2009/07/28/cash-for-clunkers-or-the-cars-program-what-you-should-know-before-you-walk-into-a-dealership.aspx to post your comments!

I was listening to the radio this morning when one of the announcers started talking about the great deal you could get by trading in your old gas guzzler for a new more fuel efficient car. It's great that they're helping to get the word out, but I don't think they had enough time to go into the important details. And those details are great to know before you start talking to a car salesman.

For example, the announcer said the rebate is $4,500 but that's only partially true. The rebate will be either $3,500 or $4,500. Which amount you get will depend on the difference in the fuel economy between your old car and the new one. Go to the FAQ section of the CARS program and look under "What is the value of the credit for the purchase or lease of a new…" to understand how the amount is figured. A $1,000 can be an important distinction when you're counting your pennies.

The main page of www.cars.gov gives you a quick rundown of the most pertinent info you need to know about the program. From there you can click through to the questions that will determine if your car meets "clunker" status, you can peruse the above mentioned FAQs for more in-depth info, and you can find out which dealers are taking part in the program.

Happy car shopping to those who qualify!

$8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit…

SuDocQueen@evpl — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:33:00 G7T

Posted to the Research Blog on EVPL Communities. View the original post at http://evpl.org/community/blogs/research/archive/2009/07/22/8-000-homebuyer-tax-credit.aspx to post your comments!

There's a lot of information out there about this credit, but I always like to get my information straight from the horse's mouth, so I went to www.usa.gov and found this nifty little question and answer page from www.irs.gov. It does a great job of explaining the current $8,000 credit and the previous $7,500 credit and includes additional links for people who want to know even more.

Www.usa.gov also offers a great page for homeowners and prospective homeowners that's full of helpful links, from how to avoid foreclosure to useful tips for current homeowners and how to protect yourself and your belongings when hiring movers.

If you checkout the RESOURCES FOR HOMEOWNERS or MORTGAGES – FEDERAL PROGRAMS, ETC be prepared to be taken to new pages with tons more helpful links!

Speak your mind…opinions welcome, wanted, and appreciated

SuDocQueen@evpl — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:11:00 G7T

Posted to the Research Blog on EVPL Communities. View the original post at http://evpl.org/community/blogs/research/archive/2009/07/09/speak-your-mind-opinions-welcome-wanted-and-appreciated.aspx to post your comments!

Hello out there to everyone in EVPL blogland,

I have a dilemma that I could use your help with. Every year I sit down to plan a workshop on useful government documents and websites (more websites than actual documents now-a-days) and every year I get overwhelmed with the glut of information I could offer… Do I focus on how to find useful health and nutrition information? Or on how to find those interesting statistics you always hear quoted from the Census and Labor Departments? Or what about consumer safety information? Or how to navigate Social Security's website? Or how about following legislation? The list can go on and on. So, I'm opening the floor to all of you, the people that the government is trying to reach with all of this information. What do you most want to know about? What do you need help discovering? Let me know how best to help you.

Sound financial advice…

SuDocQueen@evpl — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:49:00 G7T

Posted to the Research Blog on EVPL Communities. View the original post at http://evpl.org/community/blogs/research/archive/2009/07/07/sound-financial-advice.aspx to post your comments!

There's a lot that goes into understanding money management, from learning how to budget, to how to save and invest wisely. You have to look in a lot of different places for good advice on these subjects which takes a lot of time. So, the U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Commission decided to lend a helping hand and shorten the search for information. They've created http://www.mymoney.gov/default.shtml. The website pulls together good, solid advice on all aspects of budgeting and financial planning throughout life. It includes calculators, advice on avoiding scams, how to deal financially with life changing events, taxes, and even information on starting a small business.

There's an immense amount of information right at your fingertips from the site, but if it's all just a little overwhelming to you, and you'd prefer to sit down with some good old-fashioned paper in your hand, you can do that too. You can order their free "My Money" Tool Kit from the website, or over the telephone. Just call 1 (888) Mymoney. That's 1 (888) 696 – 6639, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. eastern time (except Federal holidays). The tool kit won't give you quite the depth and breadth of information that the website will, but it will offer a good start for those seeking basic financial advice.

Vacation on a budget...

SuDocQueen@evpl — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:38:00 G6T

Posted to the Research Blog on EVPL Communities. View the original post at http://evpl.org/community/blogs/research/archive/2009/06/23/vacation-on-a-budget.aspx to post your comments!

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.

Grown-up dollhouses…

SuDocQueen@evpl — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:28:00 G5T

Posted to the Research Blog on EVPL Communities. View the original post at http://evpl.org/community/blogs/research/archive/2009/05/20/grown-up-dollhouses.aspx to post your comments!

Have you stopped by Oaklyn to check out their Miniatures display yet? Or at least taken a look at the great pictures we have online? I admit I haven't gotten over to Oaklyn personally, but I have enjoyed looking at the pictures on our website. They reminded me of how much fun I've had looking at other miniature collections, like the Thorne Rooms in various museums around the country, Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, and the Museum of Miniatures in Carmel, Indiana.

But just as you don't have to actually go to Oaklyn to enjoy Marian G. William's Miniature Collection, you can also enjoy other miniature collections through our books. There's the Period Rooms of Ruth McChesney, Treasures in Miniature, Dollhouses, Miniature Kitchens, and Shops from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, and for a bit of whimsy Fairy Island: an Enchanted Tour of the Homes of the Little Folk.

And if your tastes run more to doing than looking, try these subject searches. An easy start is dollhouses. You'll find books from A Beginners' Guide to the Dolls' House Hobby to The Modern Dolls' House and The Dolls' House Wedding Book. Another good search is doll furniture. You'll get some overlap with your dollhouses search, but you'll find additional books like 55 Embroidery Projects in Miniature and Simple Country Furniture Projects in 1/12 Scale. If you're more into making accessories rather than building furniture miniature craft would be the search for you. You'll get embroidery, cross-stitch, and needlepoint projects as well as learn how to make miniature food.

Census Bureau is hiring in preparation for the 2010 Census!

SuDocQueen@evpl — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:13:00 G4T

Posted to the Research Blog on EVPL Communities. View the original post at http://evpl.org/community/blogs/research/archive/2009/04/29/census-bureau-is-hiring-in-preparation-for-the-2010-census.aspx to post your comments!

These are tough times for everyone. Some people have lost jobs; others just need a little extra income to help make ends meet. For those people even a temporary job can be better than no job at all. If you're in that situation, you should checkout http://www.census.gov/rochi/www/2010Jobs.html. From there you can access all the 2010 Census job opportunities the Bureau has available. You'll have to click on each link and read through the different PDFs. It looks like most of their current hiring is for office work, but Evansville is one of the geographic areas they're hiring for... And, as we get closer to the Census kick-off date of April 1, 2010, they'll no doubt start hiring part-time temporary help as well so if you don't see a job that fits you right now, keep checking back.

Local Yearbooks at EVPL...

SuDocQueen@evpl — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:11:00 G4T

Posted to the Research Blog on EVPL Communities. View the original post at http://evpl.org/community/blogs/research/archive/2009/04/17/local-yearbooks-at-evpl.aspx to post your comments!

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.

Want to see how our voting preferences have changed over the last 160 years?

SuDocQueen@evpl — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:36:00 G9T

Posted to the Research Blog on EVPL Communities. View the original post at http://evpl.org/community/blogs/research/archive/2008/09/04/want-to-see-how-our-voting-preferences-have-changed-over-the-last-160-years.aspx to post your comments!

Visit Voting America, United States Politics 1840-2008. A project from the University of Richmond, Voting America offers interactive maps, with data to the county level, of our Presidential elections. Along with this, the project offers expert video analysis of our voting trends and special periods in our voting history.

Over 100 people running for President in 2008!

SuDocQueen@evpl — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:51:00 G8T

Posted to the Research Blog on EVPL Communities. View the original post at http://evpl.org/community/blogs/research/archive/2008/08/22/over-100-people-running-for-president-in-2008.aspx to post your comments!

So far over one hundred people have announced or filed for candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. Visit Project Vote Smart to learn about them and the front runners McCain and Obama. Project Vote Smart is a non-partisan organization endorsed by leading newspapers and journals, the United States Government, and organizations such as the American Political Science Association. The organization provides information on candidates and government officials from the national to the local level. You can access information on your elected officials from voting records to campaign finances.