Odum Library Blog

As south Georgia prepares for a sharp drop in temperatures this week, take a look at these government resources with information about cold weather issues:

• The City of Valdosta offers tips to prevent your pipes from freezing.
• Ready.gov has pages for making sure you are ready for winter storms and extreme cold and have an emergency plan in place.
• A guide to promote personal health and safety is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• If it’s been a while since you used your fireplace–or even if you’ve used it recently–be sure to check out this safety advice for winter fires, available from USA.gov.
• Latest weather reports from across the nation are available from Weather.gov, provided by the National Weather Service.

Be sure you stay warm and follow these safety and energy-saving tips for weathering this cold spell.

December 10^th is the date the United Nations observes Human Rights Day, commemorating the 1948 UN adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). In this document the international organization recognizes “the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family [as] the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”

More information on the history of Human Rights Day and Week, December 10^th-17^th, is available through the Law Library of Congress.  Online documents relating to Human Rights Day include:

•  Proclamation 2866, in which President Harry S. Truman proclaimed Human Rights day in 1949;
• a worldwide collection of UDHR materials collected by the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights;
• current fact sheets about global issues such as the rights to water, health, adequate housing, food, and expression.

Humanrights.gov  is the official site for the U.S. government’s information about human rights. Here you can read recent news and reports about issues such as disability, freedom of expression and of religious observance, LGBT, labor, and other political, civic, and cultural rights. The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor provides further access to information on the U.S. mission to spread democracy and respect for human rights worldwide.

Odum Library’s Government Documents collection can provide you with treaties, reports, hearings, and more material, both online and in print, about human rights issues in the United States and the world.  Just contact the Government Documents Librarian at 229-245-3748 or ecrogers@valdosta.edu, or stop by the Reference Desk for more assistance. Odum Library is a selective Federal Depository Library to which public access is guaranteed by public law.

Now that the end of the semester fast approaches, it’s good to keep in mind the many non-academic pleasantries of the season.  Odum Library observes special hours for the November holiday break, and the U.S. government offers a number of tips for enjoying the autumn season and holidays.

We’re marking the 150th anniversary of official thanksgiving celebrations, as President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the fourth Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving in 1863.  Read facts about the November 28th, 2013, holiday and other fall activities courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau, National Museum of the American Indian, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

November is Native American Heritage month, for which a host of resources are available from the Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, Smithsonian Institution, and National Park Service. The Library of Congress offers the site Willing to Serve: American Indians from the Veterans History Project.

Find classic as well as unusual but healthy holiday recipes and tips for roasting a turkey and feeding a crowd.

Finally, if your plans take you traveling beyond Valdosta, be sure to check out national traffic and road closure information, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The Library of Congress buildings, events, etc., are still closed because of the federal government shutdown. Now, however, the Library of Congress web site at loc.gov is available.

Other than legislative updates, new information is not being added to the site, but you can now reach the LOC subject authorities, online catalog, and digital collections such as American Memory.

In observance of Constitution Week, Valdosta State University is at the center of educational programing about the U.S. Constitution:

Odum Library hosts a  Constitution Day exhibit in the library’s 1st floor display cases, featuring books and media about the Constitution from Odum’s collections. More information about the Constitution is available through this online exhibit about the Constitution.

Tuesday, September 17th, 11:30am-1:30pm, “Cookies and the Constitution” at the north side of Palms Quad near Langdale Hall. Public reading of the Constitution by volunteers, free pocket Constitutions and cookies, and Constitutional Jeopardy, a trivia game about the history of the Constitution.
Tuesday, September 24th, 7:00-9:30pm, in the University Center Theatre.  Student Presentation Forum:  “The Constitution, the Continued Democratic Voting Challenge, and the Rise of a New Jim Crow Order,” featuring Departments of Political Science and History student presentations on various cases and background history on the struggle for democratic voting and the role played by the Supreme Court, Congress, and state legislatures.

Thursday, September 26th, 7:00-9:30pm, in the University Center Theatre. Faculty Roundtable Talk:  “Regulation or Suppression: Before and After Shelby County Alabama v. Holder,” featuring Departments of Political Science and History faculty presentations and discussion of various topics revolving around the history, impact, and fallout of the Supreme Court’sruling on the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder.

Sponsors of these events include the Office of the President, the Student Government Association, Odum Library, Academic Affairs, and the Departments of Political Science, History, and Social Work.

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 our chat, email, phone, or text services!

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, now available for 2013.

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. Come see what’s up at Odum Library!

Traveling around Georgia this summer?  You can pick up the free Georgia Travel Guide, Guide to Georgia’s State Parks and Historic Sites, and maps of Georgia in print in the government documents exhibit area, near the Reference Desk on the second floor of Odum Library. Can’t come by the library?  Take a look at the travel guide, state parks information, and 2013 hunting and fishing guides online.

You might enjoy having a Georgia State Parks Pass that allows you to visit any state park. There you can see the rare birds of Georgia and visit Georgia’s coast, made up of both salt and fresh water, with 368,484 acres of salt marsh and 432,660 acres of freshwater wetlands. The Georgia Land Conservation Program describes ways that landowners and other citizens can help conserve Georgia’s coast, wetlands, and other green spaces.

What else is there to do in Georgia? You can observe the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War in Georgia, including this walking tour of historical sites at St. Simons Island, and view other historical attractions featuring Civil War information.

  Nearby Jekyll Island hosts the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, along with great beaches and ocean views. 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). 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.

You can find more summertime events, book a room, or otherwise plan your trip at ExploreGeorgia.org. Enjoy your summer, and remember that you can visit us at VSU’s Odum Library, too!

Odum Library will be closed on the Fourth of July. The library closes Wednesday, July 3rd, at 12:00 midnight and reopens Friday, July 5th, at 7:45 am, when regular library hours resume.

As you prepare to celebrate Independence Day, keep in mind the history of the holiday along with some swell facts for the holiday:

• Read the Declaration of Independence, courtesy of the National Archives
• View other important historical documents of the early history of the nation
• Note these fun facts about the United States this July 4th, 2013, including population, amount spent on fireworks, and likely origin of the pork or chicken you might be barbecuing this holiday
• Be aware of fireworks laws by state
• If you’re traveling by car, you might want to check this interactive map of gas prices by state
• Remember that Odum Library is a Federal Depository Library, which means that our government publications–including online ones–are open for public use. Just check  the Government Documents site for more information!

Whatever your plans, we hope you’ll have an enjoyable and safe holiday and join us again at the library once we reopen July 5th.

Odum Library will close at midnight on Sunday, May 26th, and reopen at 8:00 am on Tuesday, May 28th, in observation of Memorial Day.  The hours on Saturday, May 25th, do not change: 9:00 am through 9:00 pm.

Memorial Day expresses remembrance and gratitude to those who died serving in the United States Armed Forces.  In appreciation of all who have served, the Library of Congress maintains a collection of war remembrances through the Veterans History Project.

Visit memorials, national cemeteries, and monuments as a patriotic part of your observance of Memorial Day.

Learn more about how Memorial Day began back in the 1860s from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

Enjoy the history of America the Beautiful, the U.S. Air Force Song, and other patriotic melodies, including words, sheet music, and sound recordings, all digitized and made available by the Library of Congress.

Courtesy Library of Congress

At VSU for spring semester, at least, school is out. That can mean some changes for students and staff who’ve recently  been focused on classes and finals.

Luckily, both the U.S. and state of Georgia governments have a lot of information to help with planning your summer:

• If you’re moving, you’ll want to use these online forms for changing your address.
• Resume help is available from the U.S. Department of Labor.
• Traveling around Georgia?  You might enjoy having a Georgia State Parks Pass and browsing this Guide to Georgia’s State Parks and Historic Sites.
• Will your travels go beyond Georgia?  It might help to have a National Parks Pass.
• You can plan the costs of travel with this interactive map showing gas prices nationwide.
• Beach-goers might want to check out this coastal water temperature guide from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• Plan summer meals with this searchable guide to farmers’ markets, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Of course, we hope you’ll find your way to a library at some point during the summer with this guide to locating public libraries in your area.

Finally, while we hope you’re starting off for a great summer, remember that you’re always welcome here at Odum Library!