Colgate University Libraries News and Events

This is the annual contest that I wait for every summer, the Tour de France. And what a start it has been! With the prologue and 2 stages complete (haven't seen today's stage 3 results yet - that's for tonight's re-broadcast), there has already been numerous crashes, and some big names are out of the competetion. Everyone held their breath at the end of stage 1, when crash after crash took down competitors, one crash bringing the entire peleton to a stop. In stage 2, the combination of rain and oil leaked from an officials motorcylce took down numerous favorites and took Christian Vandevelde (broken ribs) and Frank Schleck out the race!
 
What's in store: today was cobblestones (hopefully, they had a dry day), then more than 3,000 km of "flat", mountains, and an individual time trial. I wish they'd bring back the team time trials, there's nothing quite so beautiful as a well executed team stage. It all cumulates in he final triumphant (and heart stopping) finale down the Champs Elysees.
 
Follow the action on the official Tour de France website, and for those of us following on TV, Versus (Time Warner channels 50 and 803). In the libraries, you can also catch news from databases like LexisNexis Academic and Access World News International, or check out books in our catalog on cycling, bicycle racing, or the Tour itself.

Early today, the U.S. Senate's longest serving member, Robert Byrd (D - West Virginia), died at Inova Fairfax Hospital. Perhaps best know for his knowledge of and passion for the Constitution (he is reported to have always carried a copy on the Senate floor), he was also a fiddle player, and the author of 5 books: The Senate, 1789-1989; The Senate of the Roman Republic:  Addresses on the History of Roman Constitutionalism;  Losing America: Confronting A Reckless and Arrogant Presidency;  Robert C. Byrd: Child of the Appalachian Coalfields;  and Letter to a New President, co-authored with Steve Kettmann. Colgate owns most of these books, the majority of which are official U.S. government documents. Take a look at them in our catalog, and then in person.
 
There is a lengthy obituary about Byrd in the Washington Post, and more information about him is available on the Senate website.
 
As might be expected, speeches about Byrd came quickly in Congress. You can read those by going to fdsys.gov and search for Byrd in the Congressional Record daily. I'd limit your results to after June 27, 2010 and add terms like remembering, condolences, and memorium. Try this link, and see if it gets you there (don't know if FDSys has durable URLs).

That quadrennial sporting event beloved by the world and ingored by a significant number of Americans, is underway in South Africa. If you haven't found your way to watch the matches or stay up to date on the news and events, check out our list of online and TV sources. Have a good one that isn't listed? Post a comment with the link and I'll add it our webpage.

The decennial census is well underway. Mandated by the Constitution, this head count of the people living in the United States happens every 10 years, and has significant consequences that last until the next Census. Census results are used to help determine the number of representatives for each state in the House of Representatives, and to equitably distribute federal funds for social programs, infrastucture, and emergency services. Closer to home on a college campus, many of the statistics that you use in your research, papers, and projects come from the census.
You should have received a decennial census form in the mail, and I hope that you have returned it (it's not too late). Right now, only 64% of the people living in the village of Hamilton have. Didn't get or lost your form? Call the Telephone Questionnaire Assistance toll-free number 1-866-872-6868. Students: have a question about whether or not to indicate that you live in Hamilton on your form? The quick answer is yes, the full answer is at http://2010.census.gov/2010census/how/where-counted.php ; click on "Students".

FAQs are on the Census 2010 website. Start with http://2010.census.gov/2010census/about/whole.php . As the federal documents librarian, I get 2 questions/comments: "I don't want just anyone knowing about me and my household" and "How come the survey is so short?". The response to the first comment is that the Census takes your privacy very seriously, and does not provide public access to individually identifiable information. Check out http://2010.census.gov/2010census/privacy/index.php . The answer to the second question is that the Bureau of the Census now runs an annual survey called the American Community Survey, which is sent to a sample of the U.S. households each year. See http://www.census.gov/acs/www/SBasics/ for more information. Yes, you may get both surveys this year.

One is tempted to ask "Why is "Census Day" was April 1st, but there it is. Proof that the federal government has a sense of humour!

The Government Printing Office (GPO) has posted to the Federal Digital system (FDsys) the authenticated full text of H.R. 3590 (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) and H.R. 4872 (Health Care and Education Reconcilliation Act of 2010), and of  debates and votes in the Congressional Record.
 
Direct links to the bills:
H.R. 3590
H.R. 4872

Direct links to Congressional Record debate:
Congressional Record Volume 156, Issue 43 (March 21, 2010)
Congressional Record Volume 156, Issue 43 (March 21, 2010)
Roll call vote no. 165
 
If you (like many of us) are overwhelmed by the sheer size of the bills, you can get a good start at Thomas. The Health care bills are front and center on the website today, but you can always search by the bill numbers to get to a summary, view the actions and ammendments proposed on the House and Senate floor, and link to the texts and the Congressional Record.
 
Your tax dollars at work, courtesy of the federal depository system. We will have paper copies of the law in time, but online's the way to go for now!

Welcome to the first of what I hope to be monthly entries highlighting a new and/or interesting U.S. federal document in the Colgate Libraries Collection. I'll start with a new arrival: Oriskany: a Place of Great Sadness: a Mohawk Valley Battlefield Ethnography. Call number Case Docs I 29.2:OR 4.  The Mohawk Valley Ethnography Project was designed to document the relationships between contemporary Native Americans and Europeans/Americans in the mid to late 18th century, focusing on Fort Stanwix (just up the road in Rome, NY). Fort Stanwix was the site of several critical treaties between the British and the Iroquois and, after the Revolution, the U.S. and the Iroquois. The region is the homeland of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, whose neutrality or military support was desired by both the Brisith and the "rebels" during the Revolution.
The Project was particualrly interested in finding and documenting any oral traditions that survive among the descendatns of particpants in the Battle of Oriskany (8/6/1777). Although none were found, archival research and consultation with current Native Americans resulted in this document, which includes mangement and planning for the Fort Stanwix National Monument.
Enjoy,

The Olympics are here! Every 4 years, just when college work starts to get heavy, the winter Olympics come along to distract you. For those of us fortunate to live close to the Canadian border, we have at least 2 ways to watch: NBC (Time Warner channels 3 and 863 in Hamilton) and streaming online through NBC partnerships with various cable providers. The best way to find out what's on when is to consult our Winter Olympic 2010 guide. My favorite event: curling, that "funny" sport where you throw rocks at houses and sweep with brooms. Of course, I'm biased. I'm the Colgate Curling Club faculty advisor!

What happens when John Papola, the executive producer of Spike TV and fan of economist  Friedrich von Hayek (the intellectual founder of what is known today as the Austrian School of Economics) teams up with libertarian economist Russell Roberts, co-author of the Hayek blog and host of the podcast EconTalk? A 6 1/2-minute music video which tells the story of Keynes and Hayek going out for a night on the town and debating their theories. Listen and view the video at the National Public Radio website.

So here I am on a gorgeous Saturday (how many of those are left in Central NY?), sitting at the Reference Desk in Case Library, waiting for someone to ask me a question. There are a few souls sharing my exile from the day (although truth be told, if I wasn't here, I'd be at home putting my newly painted bedroom back together). So, what's a librarian to blog about in such circumstances? National Banned Books Week is coming up (please read); food is a perennial issue in libraries (please don't).
 
Then I realized, it's September 19th, International Talk like a Pirate Day, that annual celebration of all things pirate. The brainchild of John Baur and Mark Summers, who explain the creation of the day with "we are guys", Talk Like a Pirate Day has expanded. It has an official song, a newsletter, advice column, and more. Check out their website and join the fun. After all, nothing feels better than a hearty "AARRR" when you're stuck inside on a beautiful day!

You're baaaack, and we're glad. Mother Nature seems to be glad too - this is about the longest stretch of sunny weather we've had since you left!
 
Each semester, with your return from far flung locations, colds break out in abundance. This year, however, it may be more than just colds. The Chronicle of Higher Education reported today that Wake Forest already has 2 confirmed cases of H1N1 flu, and 80 more with flu symptoms.
 
Colgate has been preparing (see http://www.colgate.edu/healthalert), but ultimately, preventing a campus-wide flu outbreak is in your hands - literally. The key is to clean your hands and don't touch your eyes, nose, or mouth. You’ll notice hand sanitizers have been installed on every floor in Case-Geyer (and elsewhere too, I’m sure). Use them. Or, even better, wash your hands and don’t be skimpy when doing so - 15 to 20 seconds is needed according to the Centers for Disease Control. It looks like a short period of time, but feels much longer. Don’t like counting to 20? Sing Happy Birthday and keep washing the entire time (don’t worry, it’s not a “public performance”, so no royalties are involved). Still getting through the process too quickly? Sing Happy Birthday like Marilyn Monroe did when she serenaded JFK in 1962. She knew how to spin out a song!
 
Did you know that the flu virus can live for 2 to 9 hours (that’s hours) after being deposited? These and more facts are available at the CDC website. Happy reading.