Odum Library Blog

On December 6, 1941, Japanese aircraft bombed the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Today is  National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, which annually marks the event that immediately precipitated the U.S. entry into World War II.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the declaration of war against Japan Dec. 8, 1941. Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration Still Picture Branch.

Please remember to visit Odum Library’s first floor exhibit of materials about World War II in honor of all who have served in the armed forces, on display through fall semester.

GALILEO, the University System of Georgia Virtual Library initiative, offers links to resources about National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

USA.gov provides additional government material about Pearl Harbor and its remembrance, including links to photos, videos, and historical documents from the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration.

A new publication from the U.S. Government Printing Office highlights the renovation of the Jekyll Island Historical Power Plant into the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center is located in the renovated Jekyll Island Historic Power Plant.

Funded by grants from the Environmental Protection Agency and partnerships among the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, the Jekyll Island Authority,  and the Jekyll Island Foundation, the cleanup and restoration of the former power plant made the building safe and efficient for modern uses.

Find out about other Cleanups in My Community programs around the country, including Georgia.

If you’re planning to visit the Sea Turtle Center sometime, it’ll host a special visitor on December 17th.

Santa will visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center Dec. 17th

Now that the holidays are here, you’ll want to spend your cash on special items and events. But you still need to stay warm, even in South Georgia! According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Georgia ranked 37^th in energy expenditure per person in 2009. That’s $3,280.79 per person!

Energysavers.gov offers a lot of tips for saving energy, including in your home, your workplace, and your vehicle. You can download or order this information booklet, too!

Tips on Saving Energy & Money at Home

If you’re wondering what the weather’s like here or someplace else in the U.S., Weather.gov lets you search by city and state name.

Oct. 31st, 2011, marks the official recognition of a world population of 7 billion people. Is that a scary thought?

According to the United States Census Bureau, the projected U.S. population today, based on 2010 Census estimates, is 312,530,196.  It’s estimated that our population has a birth every 8 seconds and a death every 12 seconds, for a net gain of 1 person every 13 seconds.

This map shows the nighttime distribution of our population in the United States and Puerto Rico:

Nighttime Map of the U.S. Population, courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau

The Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations provides much more information about world population growth.

As we welcome our seven billionth world citizen, should we be concerned about population growth?  Yes, says the United Nations Population Fund, which sponsors the program 7 Billion Actions, A Global Movement for All Humanity. Learn more about global population, read stories of people who are trying to make a difference in their communities–and maybe even share your own story with the world!

September 17th is Constitution Day, the anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution in 1787.

The Constitution, mural by Barry Faulkner, 1936, Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom, National Archives, Washington, DC

Odum Library marks Constitution Day with an online exhibit of resources about the creation of the U.S. Constitution and Georgia in the days of the Constitutional Convention.

Be sure to visit the Government Documents display for Constitution Day 2011, located in the Odum Library 2nd floor Reference area, to see copies of the Constitution, Congressional hearings, and other documents related to the U.S. Constitution and citizens’ constitutional rights, including these government documents from our collection:

The Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence

The 2004 Presidential Election: Provisions of the Constitution and United States Code

Hearings before the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties of the Committee of the Judiciary:

• Civil Rights Under Fire: Recent Supreme Court Decisions, 111th Congress, 1st session, October 8, 2009
• USA PATRIOT Act, 111th Congress, 1st session, September 22, 2009
• Achieving the Promises of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the Digital Age: Current Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities, 111th Congress, 2nd session, April 22, 2010

Just click the above links to our GIL-Find Catalog to find these documents in our collection.

Valdosta State University will feature more observations of Constitution Day, including a roundtable discussion “Free Speech and Order on University Campuses in the United States,” open to the public, location, time, and date TBA.

How likely is it that Valdosta would experience an earthquake?  Not very, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA):

Seismic Design Category (SDC) map of the Eastern United States

The Valdosta area is in white (SDC level A) on this map, which means we have “very small probability of experiencing damaging earth­quake effects.” FEMA provides this list of resources about earthquakes, including what to do after an earthquake.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) oversees federal research on earthquakes and offers maps of current earthquake activity and further information on this week’s earthquake in Virginia.

Valdosta is much more likely to experience the effects of a hurricane. Visit the current Hurricane exhibit from Odum Library’s Government Documents collection, located in the library’s second floor Reference area.  More online resources about hurricanes and other disasters are available in this previous blog entry.

Welcome to Valdosta State University! Welcome to Odum Library!

Need community information on utilities, schools, and other necessities?  Visit the City of Valdosta page for Residents.

The Lowndes County, Georgia, web site also offers a page of links for visitors and newcomers.

Check out local and area news via the Valdosta Daily Times web site. Odum Library also gets the Times in print every day; you’ll find recent issues on display at the first floor library, south side, in the Current Periodicals. We also have more than 100 years of back issues on microfilm–just ask us through chat, text, phone, email, or in person!

Are you living in a dorm or cooking on your own for the first time?  Consult the USDA’s Food Safety Tips for College Students.

Find out more about the area through the newcomers’ Greeting Service, which creates the FYi* South Georgia Guide.

Odum Library has a lot of books on local history (many located within the VSU Archives and Special Collections), maps of the area, and friendly people, such as the two reference librarians pictured below with Blaze, to answer questions.  Come visit us!

Friendly people at Odum Library!

Welcome to the current tropical storm season! Find out the names of this year’s Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes courtesy of the National Hurricane Center.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides answers to many questions about hurricanes, including:

• What does the National Weather Service predict for the 2011 tropical storm season?
• During which months do hurricanes most often occur?
• Where can I learn about the history of past hurricanes?
• Where can I track the progress of current storms?

Aerial view of hurricanes Igor, Julia, and Karl on Sept. 16, 2010

Most important: how should I prepare for tropical storms and other weather emergencies?  Here are links to expert advice:

• Hurricane Preparation Tips from VSU’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Safety (EOS), including the Campus Alert System
• Hurricane Preparedness, including what to do with your pets and how to prepare a disaster safety kit
• How to prepare your business and home for a disaster, from the Small Business Administration

Contents for an Emergency Kit, courtesy CDC.gov

Finally,

• What to do in case of a zombie apocalypse or other emergency, from the Centers for Disease Control

View the final space shuttle landing as we welcome home Atlantis and her crew.

Final landing of the space shuttle Atlantis and the U.S. space shuttle program.

More information about the final landing is available at this news release from NASA and the home page for NASA.

The Government Documents Collection at Odum Library has many publications from NASA about the history of the U.S. space program, including NASA’s First 50 Years: Historical Perspectives, which you’ll find in the second floor government documents area at call number (Sudoc number) NAS 1.21:4704.

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

Monday, July 4^th, is Independence Day, the 235^th birthday of the Declaration of Independence by the 13 North American colonies that eventually formed the United States of America. Odum Library celebrates the holiday by closing at midnight Sunday, July 3^rd, to reopen at 7:45 am Tuesday, July 5^th. These hours include the Internet Café.

Declaration of Independence Mural, National Archives

In honor of the holiday, we feature sites (including the online exhibit linked above from the National Archives and Records Administration) for federal government resources for the holiday:

Learn about the history and proper caretaking of the U.S. flag, popularly known as the “Stars and Stripes.”

If fireworks are part of your holiday, follow these safety precautions from the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission to ensure a happy celebration.

Attending a potluck or barbeque this weekend?  Get recipe ideas from The Great American Potluck cookbook, celebrating the diverse heritage of the U.S., courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Where did your holiday food originate?  Hamburgers and beef hot dogs probably came from Texas, but if it’s chicken or corn on the cob, there’s a good chance it grew up in Georgia! Enjoy these and other fun facts about July 4^th provided by the U.S. Census Bureau to our nation’s estimated population of 311.7 million people.