Odum Library Blog

Lady Diana Spencer‘s life ended tragically in a 1997 car crash; had she survived, she would have been 50 years old on Friday, July 1st.

We have several books about Diana available to check out from the Library, including Peter Donnelly’s heavily illustrated Diana: a Tribute to the People’s Princess (1997) and Andrew Morton’s Diana: Her True Story (1992), which Morton said the Princess secretly authorized and edited herself.

In 1995 Diana received the International Leonardo Prize (photo by Nick Parfjonov)

Mourning Diana: Nation, Culture, and the Performance of Grief (available as a ebook) examines how the media, and the public at large, commemorated Diana as an iconic figure following her death.

Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, London (photo by Uli Harder)

The network issues at the University of Georgia have been resolved, and both the GIL-Find@VSU Odum Library Catalog and the Digital Library of Georgia are accessible again.

We apologize for any inconveniences caused by the down time.

UPDATE: GIL-Find@VSU Odum Library is down again. Until the issue is resolved, please remember that the “Classic” GIL Catalog is still available.

We have received word that the University of Georgia is currently experiencing an internet outage. Though Athens may be far away from Valdosta, it will still affect a few online services here at VSU.

Our GIL-Find@VSU Odum Library catalog interface will not be available because of the outage. Until the issue is resolved, patrons can still access our catalog through the “Classic” interface.

In addition, the Digital Library of Georgia will also be unavailable. Unfortunately, we have no alternate method of accessing these materials while UGA is offline.

We apologize for any inconvenience that this outage may cause. The network administrators at UGA are working to repair the outage. We will continue to keep you informed of any further developments.

We’ve added DVDs for you to check out, including classic films like 42nd Street and Tod Browning’s Freaks, animated films like Finding Nemo and Up, and contemporary dramas including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Avatar.

“Mr. Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls. He liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liver slices fried with crustcrumbs, fried hencod’s roes. Most of all he liked grilled mutton kidneys which gave to his palate a fine tang of faintly scented urine.”

All the action in James Joyce’s novel Ulysses takes place on June 16th, 1904.

Ergo we celebrate June 16th as Bloomsday— named for Ulysses‘ protagonist, Mr. Leopold Bloom.

Hear James Joyce read from Ulysses here.

June 16th from 7:00 PM – 2:00 AM, New York’s WBAI becomes Radio Bloomsday with readings from Ulysses by Alec Baldwin, John Lithgow, Jerry Stiller, Marc Maron and many others.You can listen to it online.

Of course, you can check out a copy of the novel from Odum Library, or read it for free online.

On the fortieth anniversary of the original New York Times publication of leaked selections from the Pentagon Papers, June 13, 1971, the National Archives has begun releasing the full Pentagon Papers report online as PDF documents.  Print copies of the now declassified papers became available for review at the National Archives in College Park, MA, and at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston,  MA, the Lyndon Johnson Library in Austin, TX, and the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, CA.

Read the National Archives’ press release summarizing the history of and process for releasing the Pentagon Papers, formally titled the “Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force,” 34% of which have never previously been released.  The press release also contains external links to key moments from Pentagon Papers history, including an interview with Daniel Ellsberg, source for the original leak, and a video of Senator Mike Gravel reading the papers aloud into the public record.

Odum Library has the book of the papers as originally published in the New York Times on the second floor at call number  E183.8.V5 P4 1971b. Our Government Documents collection holds two 1972 Senate staff studies based on the Pentagon Papers:  U.S. Involvement in the Overthrow of Diem, 1963, at documents call number Y 4.F 76/2:D 56/963/no. 3, and Bombing as a Policy Tool in Vietnam, at Y 4.F 76/2:V 67/23.

Need help? Just contact VSU’s Government Information Librarian at 229.245.3748, or click on Live Chat on the library’s home page.

The National Academies Press is making PDF versions of its books available for FREE.

You must sign up with an email address, but then you can download free PDFs of over 4,000 titles on science, technology, and health, and education from the NAP Web site. Such as:

Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8

The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health

Ensuring the Integrity, Accessibility, and Stewardship of Research Data in the Digital Age

Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward

1984, George Orwell‘s classic tale of a horrifying future dystopia– and the origin of present-day concepts like Big Brother, Thought Police, and Orwellian evil– was published on this date in 1949.

We have two copies of the 1949 edition available to check out at PR 6029 .R8 N49 1949a

We have a later edition including the novel plus supplementary texts at PR 6029 .R8 N49 1982

Of course if you like, you can read 1984 online.

You might be interested in other books written by George Orwell, or about him and his work.

George Orwell, 1903-1950

Summer can be a time for fun and relaxation, but be sure to stay safe and healthy while you enjoy being out of school, going on vacation, or exploring your community. Check out these sites for FAQs for the summer, courtesy of Georgia.gov:

1.      Is your Georgia beach safe for swimming?  Check the Beach Swimming Advisory, courtesy of the Coastal Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

2.      Can you leave your children at home alone?  See these guidelines from the Georgia Department of Human Services’ Division of Family and Children Services.

3.      Can you eat the fish you catch? Yes, says the Wildlife Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, but be sure to consult these guidelines.

4.      What is there to do in Georgia? Here’s a list of things to do and places to go, including  state parks and historic sites, upcoming events from Georgia’s Official Tourism Website, and the Civil War in Georgia: Commemorating 150 Years. You can also order or download maps and other information.

More summer questions about Georgia? Just contact VSU’s Government Information Librarian at 229.245.3748, or the Reference Department’s Live Chat service.