From the CitizenTube blog I learned of the U.S. Government’s channel on YouTube. From there you can view and subscribe to videos from NASA, EPA, White House, FEMA, Census Bureau, and other federal agencies.
The videos are on all kinds of subjects, e.g., FBI videos on “Inside the Questioned Documents Unit” and “Bullet ballistics through various objects” (linked below), “Rosie the Riveter: Real Women Workers in World War II” from the Library of Congress, “Wetlands and Wonder” from the EPA (linked below), and NASA’s “Kepler – A Search for Habitable Planets.” Enjoy.
The University Library is a federal depository with many federal, state, local, and international documents on a variety of current and relevant issues available to you in print, microfiche, CD-ROM, and electronically. Come check out your government at the University Library!
The Supreme Court is in the news: On May 26th President Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor, a federal appellate court judge (U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit), to replace retiring Justice David Souter.
Curious about how this process works? After all, Supreme Court justices are appointed for life, not just for a President’s term. Here are places for more info:
- Search CQ Electronic Library for “supreme court” and nomination, and the results list will show items such as “History of appointments: The Senate’s role” (from Guide to Congress, 6th ed.). To see the newest results first, click the down arrow under “Date” and find items such as the CQ Weekly article “Supreme Court Nominees Are Presented, Not Just Announced”.
- Search the Library Catalog for keywords (judges or “supreme court”) and selection to find books such as Pursuit of justices: Presidential politics and the selection of Supreme Court nominees (3rd-Floor Main Collection, KF8742 .Y35 1999) and Advice and consent: The politics of judicial appointments (3rd-Floor Main Collection, KF8776 .E67 2005). This catalog search also finds government publications, such as Congressional confirmation hearings of previous nominees to the Court: Confirmation hearing on the nomination of Samuel A. Alito, Jr. (2nd-floor Federal Documents, Y 4.J 89/2:S.HRG.109-277).
- A more recent title, available to UWW students and faculty from other UW libraries by using the free Universal Borrowing service, is The next Justice: Repairing the Supreme Court appointments process (2007).
- Search Oxford Reference Online to find information about the Court, the nomination process, and a listing of “Nominations and Succession of the Justices” from sources such as The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States.
You can read Sotomayor’s decisions also, using the LexisNexis Academic database: Select the Legal portion of the database, then on the left select “Federal & State Cases” and then search for her as a judge:
The University Library is a federal depository with many federal, state, local, and international documents on a variety of current and relevant issues available to you in print, microfiche, CD-ROM, and electronically. Come check out your government at the University Library!
Making Milwaukee Mightier:
Planning and the Politics of Growth, 1910-1960
By John McCarthy
HT177 .M48 M33 2009
New Book Island, 2nd floor
As a person that is from the “wrong” side of the border, I can’t say that I know a whole about the city of Milwaukee (you mean there’s more there than just Summerfest?). So when I saw this title on the shelf, I was intrigued learn more. When I showed the book to my colleague (and Milwaukee native), her eyes lit up and she thought it was perfect to feature on New Stuff Tuesday.
McCarthy, a history professor from Robert Morris University, investigates the growth of the city of Milwaukee in the first half of the twentieth century. While the rest of the Midwest’s urban centers were stagnating, Milwaukee’s population and size continued to expand. The author details the influential players, such as Charles Whitnall, city planner, and Frank Zeidler, the last Socialist mayor in modern US history, as well as the turf wars with the surrounding suburban neighbors. The book provides an excellent starting point for learning more about Milwaukee, as it is extensively researched and gives many opportunities for further exploration.
Exceptions: CLOSED on Sunday, July 5th & Sunday, August 16th
For details see http://library.uww.edu/hours.html.
The Library will be closed Saturday-Monday, May 23-25. Summer hours will start on Tuesday, May 26th (7am-9pm).
Remember that even when the Library is closed:
- The Library’s article databases are available…just login when prompted with your campus Net-ID (same as for your campus email or D2L).
- You can search the Library Catalog and use links to the titles that are online, including ereserves for classes.
- You can renew your checked-out books, DVDs, etc. online (once) through your Personal Record.
- You can ask a librarian for help using email or chat, or phone us at the Reference Desk during open hours (262-472-1032).
The Whitewater Historical Society and Walworth County Genealogical Society will be hosting a tour of the Calvary Cemetery, Memorial Day, Monday, May 25.
VFW/Knights of Columbus memorial ceremony begins 1:30 pm at the flagpole. Tours will be given between 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm.
To get to the Calvary Cemetery: Take North Prairie Street into the dormitory area of UW-Whitewater. There will be a sign telling you which street to turn into. There is parking at the university parking lot right by the cemetery.
People portrayed include accused murderer Nellie Horan, harness-maker Joseph Haubert, musician and professor William Thiele, beloved policeman Joe Monahan, and a member of the Cummings family, early pioneers in the Town of Whitewater.
The Television Will Be Revolutionized:
By Amanda Lotz
PN1992.5 .L68 2007
New Book Island, 2nd floor
According to the Nielsen’s Three-Screen Report (PDF), Americans watch a lot of video, between using the traditional TV, internet and mobile devices. Now that the semester is (pretty much) over, it means that some of you might have more time on your hands to do just that. This week’s featured title looks at how the most popular and powerful medium is transforming in these changing times.
Lotz, assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Michigan and self-described “early adopter of television gear,” examines the television in the “post-network era,” in which all aspects of the medium, from production to distribution, have multiplied. Technological innovations like DVR and iPods have freed consumers from time constraints, content creation has found new new modes of financing and advertising isn’t relegated to the commercials. The author delves into each of these considerations of the television as well as audience measurement and the future possibilities for digital storytelling in this thought-provoking volume on the (r)evolution of a household necessity.
There’s existing home sales, consumer prices, unemployment, retail sales… the list keeps going. Staying atop of the latest economic trends is a full-time job for many people. You could watch the nightly news or check Wall Street Journal or CNN for the day’s reports of announcements and analysis. But what if there a way to proactively be ahead of the curve?
Econoday allows you to plan ahead and find out what market indicators are being released. The information provider’s website includes an economic calendar that lists when the government and other organizations will announce the latest numbers. Furthermore, they also provide explanations as to why these numbers matter. Although they don’t also post the releases themselves, they do list the responsible agencies from which you can locate them on your own.
This resource is also useful if you’re looking historically at the market reactions. If you saw that the S&P 500 went down by a large margin, it may have been due to one of these indicators.
State, the U.S. State Dept.’s glossy monthly magazine, is aimed at Dept. employees at home or abroad, but it’s available online to everyone, including prospective employees wanting to know more about the Dept.
There’s a lot of news that’s not interesting to outsiders, like retirements and employee awards, but each issue also highlights a “Post of the Month” accompanied by beautiful full-color photos. For example, the 2009 issues so far have featured posts in
- Geneva, Switzerland (January, pp.24-30),
- Adana, Turkey (February, pp.26-31),
- Santiago, Chile (March, pp.20-25), and
- Kolonia, Micronesia (April, pp.24-29).
Many issues feature an “Office of the Month” that shines a light on various State Dept. units.
And then among the brief articles are unexpected gems, like “Save the tigers: Bureau helps target illegal wildlife trade” (December 2008, pp.16-17), which both inform and entice (Did you know? Illicit trade in wildlife is valued at $10 billion+ annually and Harrison Ford did PSAs for Conservation International in 2007). Though very brief, these articles can spark one’s curiosity and motivate a search for additional information.
The University Library is a federal depository with many federal, state, local, and international documents on a variety of current and relevant issues available to you in print, microfiche, CD-ROM, and electronically. Come check out your government at the University Library!
Finals have started, and we know that without looking at the calendar.
According to Patty, our Circulation Coordinator, our numbers have been through the roof. Tuesday’s gate count (the number of individuals leaving the library) totaled 2,689 – the largest number since May 1997. Monday’s gate count was also impressive, coming to 2,371 – highest since May 2006. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.
Good luck on finals – we’ll be open until 2 AM all week so that you can study!
