Colgate University Libraries News and Events

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).

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,

What a busy month - African American History month, Charles Darwin’s and Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthdays. Did you know that Darwin and Lincoln were born on the same day? How ‘bout the following presidential trivia:
 
Q: What invention did Abraham Lincoln patent?
A: A device to lift vessels over shoals.
Source: Patent Office, 1849, pt. 1: Arts and Manufactures, Serial Set, 574 H.exdoc.20, January 16, 1850
 
Q: What famous poet eulogized President Lincoln at a Joint Session of Congress on the 150th Anniversary of the President’s birth?
A. Carl Sandburg
Source: 150th anniversary of birth of Abraham Lincoln 1809-1959, Serial Set, 12194 H.doc.211, February 12, 1959
 
All the answers to the questions came from the United States Congressional Serial Set. As a depository library, Colgate has the Serial Set going back to the beginning. It was one of the most important official publications in the early years of our country. More information from Lincoln’s term in office in the Serial Set include:
 
Message of President transmitting orders and proclamation on suspension of writ of habeas corpus, Serial Set, 1114 H.exdoc.6, July 13, 1861
 
Presidential message transmitting draft of bill to compensate any State which may abolish slavery recommending its passage, Serial Set , 1123 S.exdoc.68, July 14, 1862
 
Proclamation of President to pardon those participating in rebellion, etc., p. 14 [enclosed with 1180 H.exdoc.1], Serial Set, 1180 H.exdoc.1/2, December 8, 1863
 
Wondering what the Serial Set can do your you? Ask a Reference Librarian!

Since the financial bailout is on everyone’s mind, I wanted to pass on tips from LexisNexis on how to use LexisNexis Congressional to find relevant information.
 
"The text of the Senate passed bill H.R. 1424 is available and may be accessed by searching for bill text using the Legislative Histories, Bills & Laws Get a Document form. Select the bill tracking option to access relevant Congressional Record abstracts. Relevant Congressional Record excerpts may also be accessed by using the Daily Congressional Record & Rules form to retrieve content for Oct. 1, and then narrowing your search to H.R. 1424 using the FOCUS™ Search feature.
 
Congressional Record excerpts which include debate and text of the substitute amendment to H.R. 3997 which failed in the House on Sept. 29, 2008, may be accessed by using the Legislative Histories, Bills & Laws Get a Document form to search for the bill. The text of the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 3997 is included in the House Rules Committee Report 110-903, which may be accessed by searching on the publication number using the Search by Number form, and then clicking on the hyperlinked House report number in the results record to the full text."
 
Much of this info is also available at Thomas, but I had better luck searching by the law's short title: EMERGENCY ECONOMIC STABILIZATION ACT OF 2008. The bill and Congressional debate area also available at GPO Access.
"Happy" reading.