Search results matching tags 'central library' and 'evpl'

Central Library CLOSED until NOON on Wednesday, May 30

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Tue, 29 May 2012 19:09:00 GMT

Central Library will be closed until noon on Wednesday, May 30 due to air conditioning repair. Central's hours will be 12:00pm - 9:00pm.

All other locations are unaffected and will open as usual.

Thank you for your understanding as we improve your library.

Astronomy Week

SuDocQueen@evpl — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:20:00 GMT

I learned something new today. There are two Astronomy Days a year. One in the spring and one in the fall. This fall the day is October 1st, and the week Astronomy Day falls in is designated Astronomy Week. So September 26th to October 2nd this year is Astronomy week. I thought this rather serendipitous what with the NASA satellite due to fall from the sky today.

The Astronomical League has a good website for those who want to learn more about astronomy. They also have information on Astronomy Day celebrations around the country as well as helpful information for those who would like to host an Astronomy Day celebration.

For information on stargazing closer to home, The Evansville Astronomical Society's website offers useful stargazing links, a nice calendar of local events, and interesting information on the society's history.

If you'd like to learn a little more about astronomy before you consider contacting your local society, the library has plenty of books on astronomy, the stars and planets, and how to be an amateur astronomer. If you visit Central Library this week, stop by the second floor and check-out our book display by the stairs. To celebrate the week, we have some of our astronomy books on display there for easy access.

Red Bank Branch CLOSED June 20 - 22

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 21:48:00 GMT

Red Bank Branch will be closed Monday, June 20 - Wednesday, June 22 for HVAC replacement.

During closing all Red Bank programs will move to West Branch Library.

To check-out and return items, visit West Branch (open until 8:00pm).
To use public computers, visit North Park Branch or Central Library.

Thank you for your understanding as we improve your library.

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.

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 .