Library Closings

All CMRLS Libraries will close

by 6:00 p.m. on Wed., Dec. 23 and

all day Thurs., Dec. 24,

Fri., Dec. 25, and Sat., Dec. 26,

for the Christmas Holiday!

~

The Libraries will also close

all day Thurs., Dec. 31 & Fri., Jan. 1,

for the New Year's Holiday.

~

Libraries will close all day Mon., Jan. 19

for the celebrated birthdays of

Martin luther King, Jr. & Robert E. Lee.

~

The CMRLS staff wishes you a

happy and safe holiday season!

Check us out on Twitter!

CMRLS can now be found on Twitter! You never know where you'll find a library!

Not Today's Music!

RatherGoWalking, originally uploaded by msulibrary1. (Viewed during a breakout workshop at the MSU Library 2.0 Summit, 2008)

This is one of many scans of 100 year old sheet music from the archives of Mississippi State University! Check out the rest of the collection on Flikr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/msstatelibraries/sets/72157605711536723/.

2008 Presidential Election

Have you made your mind up yet or do you need help making sense of it all? Try some of these websites to follow along the campaign trail.

From the Librarians' Internet Index:

AltWeeklies.com: 2008 Presidential CampaignCompilation of news stories and commentary concerning the 2008 U.S. presidential election, from more than 100 alternative U.S. and Canadian newsweeklies. Entries include headline, brief story summary, author, publication, and option to email the stories. Also includes links to the full stories. Listed chronologically. From the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies.

Election 2008: Vote by Issue QuizThis quiz helps you "[l]earn about the [2008 presidential] candidates through their platforms, not their personalities. [It] features some of the issues that have gained traction this campaign season." Also includes an "Election Issues" section (top menu, once you enter the quiz) with candidates' statements about health care, immigration, energy, Iraq, abortion, and other issues. From WBUR and the Online NewsHour.

The Onion: War for the White HouseThis satirical publication's coverage of the 2008 U.S. presidential election features "news" stories, humorous candidate profiles and candidate statements on key issues, videos, and a creative description of the election process. From the Onion, which "is not intended for readers under 18 years of age."

PolitiFact.comThis website was created "to help voters separate fact from falsehood in the 2008 presidential campaign. Journalists and researchers from the [St. Petersburg] Times and CQ [Congressional Quarterly] will fact-check the accuracy of speeches, TV ads, interviews and other campaign communications." Searchable; or browse the site's "Truth-O-Meter" by candidate, subject, political party, and other factors. Includes related articles and in-depth features.

Resources found elsewhere on the 'Net:

Declare Yourself - Quick and easy Learn about the 2008 election.

Electoral Vote - Track the electoral college and congressional elections with a red/blue map of the US updated daily using the latest state polls.

2008 Presidential Election from Yahoo! - Full news coverage and opinions on the 2008 presidential election. Find photos, audio, video, and related sites about the 2008 election on Yahoo! on Yahoo!

The 2008 Election with CNN - Latest headlines and video, candidates' positions on the issues, fundraising totals, States to Watch news and analysis, and a unique side-by-side visual ...

NPR & the 2008 Election - In-depth coverage of the 2008 presidential election, Democratic and Republican candidates, and primary elections and caucuses. Listen to audio and video ...

Election 2008 - Ongoing collection of nonpartisan and partisan national polls.

For teachers from Scholastic.com - Read our extended news reports of the Election 2008 campaign. This special report include stories, activities, background information and more.

From USA Today - Up-to-the-minute breaking news coverage of US politics, including election 2008 and the presidential candidates. Visit USATODAY.com for complete access to ...

From Wall Street Journal 2008 presidential election -Learn more about the 2008 Presidential Election with news and headlines from the Wall Street Journal.

Reuters - Election 2008 - Link to Reuters Special Coverage pages for the major 2008 US Presidential candidates.

In the News...

Click these links to find books on Gerald R. Ford, James Brown, Democratic party, Republican party, U. S. Legislators, U. S. Presidents, Saddam Hussein and Iraq, violent crimes, football, basketball, Glaucoma Awareness Month, Get Organized Month, and for humor - the Sweet Potato Queen novel; @ your library!

Closed for the Holidays

CMRLS libraries will be closed December 23, 25, and 26 for the Christmas holidays. Branches will reopen Wednesday, December 27 with regular business hours.

CMRLS wishes everyone a very HAPPY HOLIDAY!

CMRLS Libraries to close Labor Day

All CMRLS libraries

will be closed

Monday, September 4,

in observance of Labor Day.

The libraries will reopen

for regular business on

Tuesday, September 5.

Have a safe and happy Labor Day!

The History of Labor Day: from US Department of Labor

The Origins of Labor Day: from PBS-NewsHour

Labor Day: from FirstGov.gov, includes labor statistics, boating safety, picnic tips, etc.

Barbeque Recipes: from AllRecipes.com

Barbeque University

Plan a Picnic: from RecipeAmerica.com

Take Safety on your Picnic

First Aid: from MayoClinic.com

Food Contamination and Poisoning: from MedlinePlus

May is...

May 1, 1939 - Batman Debuts, read an NPR interview with Batman creator.
May 1-7 - Eat Desserts First Week! Forget what your mom said. Sponsored by Rowenas in Virginia, this special week of the year gives you permission to eat your dessert before you eat your peas!
May 6 - National Scrapbook Day - Follow this link for books in the library on scrapbooking.
May 12 - Fibromyalgia Awareness Day - Follow this link for books in the library on fibromyalgia.
May 14 - Mother's Day - Follow this link for children's books about Mother's Day.
May 20 - Armed Forces Day
May 22-29 - National Backyard Games Week
May 21-27 - National Etiquette Week
Get Caught Reading Month
National Arthritis Month
National Bike Month
National Egg Month
National Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month
National Older American Month
National Salsa Month
National Stroke Awareness Month

...and don't forget that Summer Library Programs start in June. Visit your library to register for a summer-full of FUN!

National Turn Off Your TV Week

April 24-30, is

National Turn Off Your TV Week!

Click here for the online calendar to see

the programs offered at your local library.

There are family games and

story times planned,

as well as teen programs, jazz, theater,

and therapy dogs!

So much is happening at your library!

Visit

http://www.tvturnoff.org

for information.

National Minority Health Month!

April is National Minority Health Month!
Click the links below for health information on the Internet*.

MedlinePlus is the National Library of Medicine's web site for free consumer health information. It is a selective list of authoritative health information resources from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other organizations.
MedlinePlus African American Health
Alzheimer's Association: Black/African American Communites - Information about the impact of Alzheimer's in the Black/African American community.
NOAH - New York Online Access to Health - Provides access to high quality full-text consumer health information in English and Spanish.
National Women's Health Information Center - A gateway to a vast array of Federal and other women's health information resources.
African American Women - Includes links to health topics of special concern to African American women.
National Medical Association - The NMA promotes the collective interests of physicians and patients of African descent. They serve as the collective voice of physicians of African descent and they are a leading force for parity in medicine, elimination of health disparities and promotion of optimal health.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases - Information on a broad spectrum of metabolic diseases such as diabetes and endocrine disorders.
Health Information Publications
Easy to Read Publications
Healthfinder - Healthfinder is a free gateway to reliable consumer health and human services information.
"Just for You" - Focuses on special health concerns based on gender, age, race, ethnic origin.
BlackHealthcare.com - A culturally oriented and ethnically focused comprehensive internet-based health and medical information provider diedicated to addressing the special health problems of African-Americans.
Closing the Gap - A national campaign to bring the best health information to African Americans and other communities of color, and to help consumers take charge of their health.
National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute - Seven booklets with information on diet, cholesterol, physical fitness and more.
Heart Healthy Cooking African American Style - Booklet which brings together many recipes prepared in heart healthy ways.
African Amercan Resources - Gateway toward achieving Healthy People 2010 goals; includes resources, conferences and more.
Prostate Cancer Screening: A Decision Guide for African Americans - Discusses the pros and cons of prostrate screening.

*Health Information on the Internet. 2006. National Library of Medicine & National Institutes of Health.

Polkville Library Opens for NLW!

The Polkville Library reopened its doors Monday, April 3, just in time to celebrate National Library Week! Branch manager Joyce Bradshaw, Polkville Mayor Robert Miles, and many wonderful citizens of Polkville, as well as CMRLS headquarters staff, worked hard to reopen the library as promised! The library was enlarged and additional shelving installed to give the Polkville Library a new face and needed room. Check out the Polkville Library webpage, the pictures will be posted soon.

Happy National Library Week!

Carolyn Haines visits during NLW!

Nationally known author, Carolyn Haines spoke at Flowood Library on Monday, April 3, during National Library Week. Ms. Haines kept the audience entertained with stories about her writing and teaching. Afterwards she signed her newest book, Penumbra, which will be in bookstores this week and in the libraries this month.

About Penumbra: Marlena Bramlett, a young mother married to the wealthiest man in the area, is raped and beaten beyond recognition. Marlena had been entertaining her lover at a picnic in the woods, and her six-year-old daughter is missing after the attack. Jade Dupree, Marlena's unacknowledged half-sister (her mother is society dame Lucille Longier and her father an unknown black man) is determined to find her niece with the help of white deputy sheriff Frank Kimble (from her website http://www.carolynhaines.com).

"While suspenseful and violent, Haines' literary thriller never loses sight of the poignant story at its heart. Transcending the usual mystery conventions, this is highly recommended." -The Library Journal

Carolyn Haines is also a recepient of the 2004 CMRLS Patron's Award for Crossed Bones, a Sarah Booth Delaney mystery.

For other books by Ms. Haines that are found in CMRLS libraries , click here.

FREE TAX HELP!

Visit the Pearl, Brandon, or Richland library for FREE tax help from VITA or AARP.

Richland Library - AARP - Each Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.
Pearl Library - AARP - Each Wednesday, 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.
Brandon Library- AARP - Each Friday, 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.
Richland Library - VITA - Each Saturday, 1:00 until 4:00 p.m.

Be sure you bring pertinent information, as well as last year's tax returns!

Library Lover's Month Drawing

Be sure you stop by one of the 21 CMRLS libraries during the month of February. Each time you use your library card this month you may enter to win one of three prizes that are on display!

February is...

American Heart Month, Library Lover's Month, National Black History Month, National Children's Dental Month, and National Pet Dental Month, and so much more! Click for websites with further information.

Library Lover's Month is especially important to CMRLS this year. We asked local businesses to display a Valentine for the library, so look around while you are out this month and see who "loves their library!"

If you are looking for resources for Black History Month homework assignments, check these out:

African American Lives, from PBS
African American Odyssey, from the Library of Congress
Black History Month Resources at Librarians Internet Index
Black Voices, AOL African American and Black Culture Community
Thomson Gale's Black History Month Free Resources

And, if you looking for some interesting information about Valentine's Day, click here!

Happy Library Lover's Month!
from CMRLS.

The New York Times Best Sellers @ your library

Follow the link to the title in the catalog to make a request.
FICTION
Goodnight Nobody, by Jennifer Weiner
The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
The March, by E. L. Doctorow
The Widow of the South, by Robert Hicks
The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova
Polar Shift, by Clive Cussler with Paul Kemprecos
Lipstick Jungle, by Candace Bushnell
Point Blank, by Caterine Coulter
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate, by Alexander McCall Smith
Chill Factor, by Sandra Brown
Shalimar the Clown, by Salman Rushdie
High Druid of Shannara: Straken, by Terry Brooks
Thud!, by Terry Pratchett
Slow Burn, by Julie Garwood
Cinnamon Kiss, by Walter Mosley
The Mermaid Chair, by Sue Monk
Lifeguard, by James Patterson and Andrew Gross
The Five People You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Albom
Sweetwater Creek, by Anne Rivers Siddons
Vanish, by Tess Gerritson
Without Mercy, by Jack Higgins
Tyrannosaur Canyon, by Douglas Preston
The Last Days of Dogtown, by Anita Diamant
Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown
Spell of the Highlander, by Karen Marie Moning
The Undomestic Goddess, by Sophie Kinsella
True Believer, by Nicholas Sparks
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See
The Painted Drum, by Louise Erdrich
The Interruption of Everything, by Terry McMillan
Miracle, by Danielle Steel
Pirate, by Ted Bell

NON FICTION
The World is Flat, by Thomas L. Friedman
1776, by David McCullough
Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell
Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, by Alan Alda
100 People Who Are Screwing Up America, by Bernard Goldberg
Where God Was Born, by Bruce Feiler
Bait and Switch, by Barbara Ehrenreich
Talking Back, by Andrea Mitchell
1491, by Charles C. Mann
The Universe in a Single Atom, by Dalai Lama
America (The Book), by Jon Stewart
Collapse, by Jared Diamond
Good to Great, by Jim Collins
The Shame of the Nation, by Jonathan Kozol

How to Save Your Water-damaged Treasures

Try these links for information:

Save Your Treasures the Right Way
http://www.heritagepreservation.org/news/SaveTreasRight.htm

Tips for the Care of Water-Damaged Family Heirlooms and Other Valuables
http://aic.stanford.edu/library/online/disaster/tentip.html

Emergency Management Suppliers and Services
http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf36.htm

Emergency Salvage of Wet Books and Records
http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf37.htm

Emergency Salvage of Wet Photographs
http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf38.htm

Emergency Salvage of Moldy Books and Paper
http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf39.htm

Salvage Operations for Water Damaged Archival Materials: A Second Glance
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/waac/wn/wn19/wn19-2/wn19-206.html

Emergency Salvage of Flood Damaged Family Papers
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/bytopic/disasters/primer/narafam.html

Salvaging Water-Damaged Textiles
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/floods/textils.shtm

Preventing Damage from Mold: Tips for Homeowners
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/floods/mold.shtm

Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel
http://www.heritagepreservation.org/catalog/Wheel1.htm

Resources for Recovery: Post-Disaster Aid for Cultural Institutions
http://www.heritagepreservation.org/PDFS/Aid%20Brochure.pdf

Fifty Years Ago...

1955
The play Bus Stop, by William Inge, opened at the Music Box Theater in NewYork.
Reserve the video!

The play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof , by Tennessee Williams, opened on Broadway.
Reserve the video!

Ford Motor Company introduced the Thunderbird to compete with GM's Corvette.
Check out these titles:
100 Years on the Road: A Social History of the Car, by Raymond Flower & Michael Wynn.
How a Car is Built, video for ages 4-12
The Complete History of General Motors, by Richard Longworth
Natchez Trace Parkway: A Road Through the Wilderness: History & Self-guided Tour, audio

Special K, the Kellogg fat-free toasted cereal made its debut.
Check out these titles:
The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook: Eating Well for Better Health
Nutrition for Dummies, by Carol Ann Rinzler

The Detroit Red Wings won the hockey Stanley Cup.
Check out these titles:
Hockey: A History of the Fastest Game on Ice, by Mark Stewart
Hockey for Dummies, by John Davidson
The Concise Encyclopedia of Hockey, by M. R. Carroll

U. S. President Ike Eisenhower had a heart attack.
Check out these titles:
50 Ways to a Healthy Heart, by Christian Barnard
Before It Happens to You: A Breakthrough Program for Reversing or Preventing Heart Disease, by Jonathan S. Bernstein
Heart Diseases for Dummies, by James M. Rippe
Dwight D. Eisenhower, by Tom Wicker

Joe DiMaggio was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Check out these titles:
The American Classic: The World Series at 100, by Ken Leiker
The Book of Baseball Literacy, by David H. Martinez
DiMaggio: Setting the Record Straight, by Morris Engelberg & Marv Schneider

These facts were found at http://www.decades.com. Check it out! What happened the year you were born? Do you share a birthday with someone famous or infamous? See your local librarian if you are looking for further information on any subject!

Hurricane Information on the Net

Following the Hurricane:
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) for Kids: How to Track a Hurricane
Hurricane and Storm Tracking for the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
Hurricane News, Information & Tracking Since 1999
Mississippi Emergency Management Agency
National Hurricane Center
A Practical Guide to Hurricane Tracking and Plotting
Printable Hurricane & Tropical Storm Tracking Maps
Preparing for the Hurricane:
American Red Cross: Preparing for a Hurricane
CDC (Center for Disease Control): Emergency Preparedness and Response: Hurricane
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency): Hazards: Hurricanes

2004 Presidential Election

Are you still hoping to make an informed decision before casting your vote on Nov. 2? Check out these websites for help:
Project Vote Smart: All Candidates - includes a short biography, email, web address, affiliations, and more, for all candidates.
Presidential Election Information Source and Directory "...the premiere Presidential Election information portal, source, and directory that provides Government, State, local, and Presidential Election information."
The 2004 U. S. Presidential Election: A view from the web. -an analysis of candidates websites.
Librarians Index to the Web: 2004 Presidential Elections -find anything dealing with the election, jokes and even an explanation of the electoral college!
2004 Presidential Election News - from topix.net, the internet's largest news site.

Federal Election Commission - This site is designed as a tool for anyone who wishes to learn more about financing campaigns for federal office, the rules and regulations pertaining to this process, or elections and voting in general.

Democratic National Committee

Republican Notional Committee