Odum Library Blog

Artist and collector Andrew Tatler-Burgess studied art in Holland at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague, and has worked as a professional artist for over two decades. He now resides in Pelham, Georgia. Several of his paintings are now on display on Odum Library’s 2nd floor gallery.

Using oils and acrylic, Tatler-Burgess captures his subjects in vivid colors and light. The 2005 film Memoirs of a Geisha inspired his personal favorite piece, The Geisha. “Her stoic façade projects intimacy to her client and hides her true emotions.”

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Working under the pen-name “Wallen,” Tatler-Burgess has also painted the out-of-the-way locales and waterways of the Florida countryside.

Odum Library Archives and Special Collections houses many rare antique books, maps, art, Chinese ceramics, and medieval illuminated manuscripts– including pieces dating back to the middle of the 15th century– which were once part of Tatler-Burgess’ extensive personal collection.

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.

Due to the recent partial shutdown of the federal government, a number of widely used online resources that are normally accessible by the public will not be available for the duration of the shutdown. If you need any assistance accessing any materials that were provided by the federal government, please feel free to ask a librarian for help. Our reference librarians can be reached through phone, email, text messaging, and online chat through the following link:

http://www.valdosta.edu/academics/library/general/live-chat.php

Below is a list of a few of the most popular services that have been affected and some suggested alternate locations that you can visit to obtain the information.

Resources Affected by the Shutdown:

PubMed – Open With Minimal Support

PubMed is open, but it is being maintained with minimal staffing due to the lapse in government funding. Information will be updated to the extent possible, and the agency will attempt to respond to urgent operational inquiries.

Where to go instead:  MEDLINE<http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zbmf>, our subscribed database which has all the content of PubMed.

ERIC.ed.gov – Shut Down

Due to a lapse of appropriations and the partial shutdown of the Federal Government, the systems that host www.eric.ed.gov  have been shut down. Services will be restored as soon as a continuing resolution to provide funding has been enacted.

Where to go instead: Access ERIC at EBSCOHost or use our Electronic journal search to look for materials on eric.ed.gov.  Fulltext materials hosted on eric.ed.gov will not be available.

Census.gov (including American Fact Finder) – Shut Down

Due to the lapse in government funding, census.gov sites, services, and all online survey collection requests will be unavailable until further notice.

Where to go instead: ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the United States which has a great amount of important Census data.

loc.gov – Shut Down

Due to the temporary shutdown of the federal government, the Library of Congress is closed to the public and researchers beginning October 1, 2013 until further notice.

Where to go instead: Odum Library patrons wishing to use resources provided by the Library of Congress, including Subject Heading searching and American Memory, are advised to contact the Odum Library Reference Desk at: http://www.valdosta.edu/academics/library/general/live-chat.php

These are the most commonly used library resources affected by the shutdown. There are other sites maintained by the U.S. government that could experience issues as well. If you have trouble accessing anything you need for your research, please contact a reference librarian and we will be happy to help you get the resources you need during the shutdown.

Participating in VSU Homecoming activities, a dedicated team of Library faculty, staff and student workers spent the past week preparing Odum Library for Homecoming 2013 painting the library with “Red and Black”.   Spurred by the Library Director, Dr. Alan Bernstein, expressing a clear desire for winning the President’s Departmental Spirit Award traveling trophy, both library entrances are covered in “Red and Black” bunting and have enlarged pictures of past homecomings, football games, and school dances through the years.   The winning department will be announced on October 3 at the Pep Rally & Battle of the Bands.

We invite you to stop by any of the library service points and pick-up “CommUnity Through Time” story postcards depicting significant Homecoming events or take a selfie with the former mascot, Blaze the Dragon (1987-2000) as located by the 1^st floor east entrance.   If you want more information regarding the pictures, contact the VSU Archives, which maintains institutional records in various searchable resources, such as Archon, and the Scrapbooks.

Go Blazers!

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!

It seems that in all the commotion surrounding the first days of Fall Semester, a thief has made off with one of the paintings from the art displays in the library. Investigators think that the thief has hidden the painting somewhere in the library for safe keeping until they can come back to claim their prize.

Come help us search the library for clues and use your deductive skills to help find the painting before the thief comes back and it slips through our hands for good.

Join in the mystery. It’s happening  Friday, August 16th, at 4pm. Meet in room 1604 on the first floor of the library if you think you could help us out.

If you finish the mystery you’ll get free pizza and drinks! Bring your friends for an afternoon of fun in the library.

If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to moholt@valdosta.edu. If you have any more questions about the mystery, don’t hesitate to contact the Reference Desk at the Library for answers!

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!

Every June we look forward to the arrival of Governor’s Honors Program. These bright, talented high school students eagerly fill Odum Library in their down time.

GHP students: we want to welcome you, and we encourage you to make yourselves at home! We are happy to see you embrace the Library as a place to engage your curiosity, and occasionally to socialize, too. We are here to help you, so please ask questions.

New GHP students and faculty should know that, while you’re welcome to use any of the materials in the Library, GHP has its own collection here. The bulk of the collection is located on the third floor of the Library in the northwest corner. GHP music scores are shelved on the first floor of the library in room 1617 with the Fine Arts Materials Collection. Your GHP ID card serves as your library card, so be sure to have it handy if you want to check out any of these materials.

Finally, you may notice some construction projects that are happening in the Library this summer. The work is mostly being done in the evenings. We’re sorry if it’s an inconvenience. If you need to find a quieter spot to study, our Avoid the Noise blog post may help.

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.