From: Information Services [is@lib.state.ia.us]
Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2007 9:14 AM
To: barb.corson@lib.state.ia.us
Subject: State Library Update

State Library Update
       
www.statelibraryofiowa.org

February 2007

Vol. 5, no. 1

 

In this issue:

 

*Search the Des Moines Register online using your State Library card

 

*Don’t let this happen to you!

 

*Find out about changes at the State Law Library

 

*Celebrate National Library Week in April with the State Library. Attend free classes and come to a Lunch and Learn.

 

*Visit an exhibit by a local artist at the Ola Babcock Miller Building

 

*Check out the State Library’s collection of books about Iowa

 

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State Library customers can search the full text of the Des Moines Register and six other Iowa newspapers: Cityview, the East Dubuque Register, the Cedar Rapids Gazette, the Burlington Hawk Eye, the Iowa City Press-Citizen, and the Dubuque Telegraph Herald. Newsweek, Time, and U.S. News & World Report are also included.

 

To search for articles go to our Web site www.statelibraryofiowa.org, click on ‘Logon to Online Resources’ in the left sidebar, and then click on ‘NewsBank’. Enter your State Library card number to access the database.

 

If you don’t have a card and would like to register for one, click on ‘State Library Card’ on the left sidebar of our Web site.

 

For assistance finding an article or for more information, please call our reference staff at 515-281-4102, 800-248-4483 or email is@lib.state.ia.us.

 

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The other day a state employee called the State Library with a desperate plea,   "Can you send over a copy of our agency's annual report from last year, right away?" They were shocked to hear our answer:  "Sorry, but your agency did not deposit a copy of your annual report with us last year, so we can't help you."  They were distraught as no one in their agency had kept a copy, either.

 

Has your agency deposited a copy of your important public documents at the State Library, either in paper form to the State Documents Depository Program or in electronic form to Iowa Publications Online?  Don't let these very important documents disappear when you "update your Web site" or clean out the storage closet.

 

Send five copies of all print documents intended for the public to:

 

State Library of Iowa
Documents Depository Program
Miller Building
1112 E. Grand
Des Moines, IA  50319

 

Or via local mail to:

 

State Library of Iowa
Documents Depository Program
Miller Building

 

Deposit electronic copies in the free and permanent archive of state documents, Iowa Publications Online, at http://publications.iowa.gov/

 

For more information call 515-581-4102 or 800-248-4483.

 

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Linda Robertson, the State Law Librarian for many years, retired in December 2006. Mandy Easter and Cory Quist were named Law Librarians and oversee the reference services and collections at the Law Library which is located on the second floor of the State Capitol Building.

 

Changes were made on the first floor of the Law Library to return the appearance to its original look and feel, which created more open space. The alcove facing the main door, which previously housed staff desks, was cleared to accentuate the beautiful view toward downtown.  The large reference desk, with its cage-like grillwork, has been returned to its original location at the north end of the main floor. With its five stories of open tiers, the Law Library is a beautiful place to visit.

 

To contact the Law Library with legal reference questions call 515-281-5124, 800-248-4483, or email law.library@lib.state.ia.us. For information about other services go to http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/services/law-library.

 

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Join us during National Library Week, April 16-20, 2007, for the State Data Showcase! Spend an hour or all week exploring the wealth of data available from state and federal agencies. Our presenters are subject-matter experts from a variety of agencies, including the State Library; Iowa Departments of Education, Economic Development, Human Rights, Human Services, Management, Natural Resources, Public Health, Public Safety, Revenue, Transportation, and Workforce Development; Iowa College Student Aid Commission; Legislative Services; National Agricultural Statistics Service; and Iowa Kids Count. One day will be dedicated to interactive mapping and GIS data resources in state agencies.

 

You may register for one session or as many sessions as you like. Further information about registration will be announced in mid-February on the State Data Center Web site at www.iowadatacenter.org. Questions? Call Beth Henning in the State Data Center at 515-281-4350 or 800-248-4483.

 

The State Library will also celebrate National Library Week by hosting a Lunch and Learn about polio in Iowa to tie in with the All Iowa Reads book selected this year, Splendid Solution, Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio by Jeffrey Kluger. More information will be available in the next issue of this newsletter. To read about the All Iowa Reads program go to http://www.iowacenterforthebook.org/air/2007/index.html. To read people’s stories about polio, or to add your own, go to www.iowapoliostories.org.

 

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The State Library is hosting an exhibit of the paintings of local doctor, Phillip L. Bryant, D.O.  Dr. Bryant, a family practice physician in the Des Moines area, is also a life long artist.  A variety of his works are on display at the Library through February. Watercolors, acrylics, pastels and more cover topics from an ancient waterwheel in Iraq to a portrait of his three children.  Many of the paintings have a water theme, showing Dr. Bryant’s love for the water and boating.

 

Stop by the Ola Babcock Miller Building and enjoy this beautiful exhibit. We are located at the NW corner of E. 12th and Grand Ave.  Visitor parking is available directly north of the building.

 

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Looking for an interesting book to read during these cold days of winter?  The State Library has quite a number of titles about Iowa: its history, its people, its quirks, and much more.  Here are some titles you might try. You can find these and many more titles in our online catalog at http://catalog.lib.state.ia.us/ where state employees can request that the books be sent to them.  All Iowans can come to the library and check them out.

 

A Century Of Iowa Architecture: 1900-1999 / text by Jason Alread; photography by Cameron Campbell.  2004.

 

The projects illustrated in this book were selected from nominations that were juried by a panel of distinguished Iowans. In selecting the projects to be honored, the jury was careful to consider issues related to the buildings’ civic and cultural significance in addition to design excellence. The buildings represented are an attempt to celebrate a small portion of Iowa’s exceptional architecture and the high quality of the communities that created them.

 

A Field Guide To The North American Prairie / Stephen R. Jones and Ruth Carol Cushman.  2004.

 

The North American prairie extends across eighteen states and provinces in the heartland of the United States and Canada, and many prairie preserves are within easy driving distance of large cities. This new field guide provides detailed profiles of 48 major North American prairie preserves and capsule descriptions of 120 smaller preserves. Each preserve profile includes practical information on what times of year to visit, how to get there, where to go hiking and camping--and even boating. Each profile also covers weather conditions and wildlife of special interest, in addition to the flora, fauna, and natural history of the preserve. More than 250 stunning color photos illustrate everything from scarab dung beetles and orchids to bison wallows and hailstorms.

 


Great Iowa Walks: 50 Strolls, Rambles, Hikes, And Treks / Lynn L. Waters; edited by Stan Stoga.  2005.

 

Wander prairies blazing with color. Climb up ridges and discover stunning vistas. Dip into quiet valleys and peaceful canyons. Glide through a golden forest, stroll a city street, stand beneath a waterfall or in a cave. In this book, Lynn Walters guides you to some of Iowa’s most scenic and diverse trails. No matter if you are in the mood for a casual jaunt or an adventuresome trek, Great Iowa Walks can help you plan your route.

 

Iowa: Past To Present: The People And The Prairie / Dorothy Schweider, Thomas Morain, Lynn Nielsen.  2002.

 

The author's skillful narrative brings to life the events and the people that compose Iowa's rich heritage. Readers will identify with the lives of ordinary people from all periods of Iowa's past, helping them to see their own role in the continuing story of Iowa.

 

The Iowa State Fair: In Vintage Postcards / Ron Playle.  2006.

 

Each August, the Iowa State Fairgrounds, home to America’s quintessential state fair, becomes 400 acres of sights, sounds, and aromas. More than just a showcase for farm machinery, the fair has one of the world’s largest livestock shows, hundreds of competitive events, first-class entertainment, and every imaginable type of food-on-a-stick. The first Iowa State Fair, held in 1854 at Fairfield, drew 10,000 visitors. Now attendance regularly tops one million visitors per year. The State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been the fair’s location since 1886. Since the fair’s early days, fairgoers could choose from a large selection of postcards, stick on a stamp, and mail them to friends to describe their blue ribbon, an exciting midway ride, or the great entertainment. Over 190 vintage postcards provide glimpses of the fair from the 1890s to the mid-1950s in The Iowa State Fair.

 

Iowans of the Mighty Eighth / Charles Day Taylor.  2005

 

During World War II, Iowans of the "Mighty Eighth" Air Force were based in England from 1942 to 1946, a year after the end of World War II. Aircrews flew in un-pressurized, unheated, piston-engine airplanes where temperatures inside the aircraft reached sixty degrees below zero. Despite horrific losses, fear, apprehension, loneliness and exhaustion, their morale never broke. Read the experiences of over three hundred Iowa veterans of the greatest air armada ever assembled.

 

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OTHER SERVICES that the State Library offers free of charge:

 

*Search for full-text journal articles and do research using our online resources at http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/services/resources.

 

*Answers to your information needs are available at your desktop using our Ask A Librarian service. Go to http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/services/askalibrarian.

 

 

 


Barbara Corson
Program Director for Library Services
State Library of Iowa
E. 12th & Grand
Des Moines, IA 50319
515-281-4352
800-248-4483
barb.corson@lib.state.ia.us