From: Information Services [IS@lib.state.ia.us]
Sent: Friday, March 14, 2008 7:43 AM
To: barb.corson@lib.state.ia.us
Subject: State Library of Iowa Update March 2008

State Library Update

www.statelibraryofiowa.org     

March 2008
Vol. 6, no. 2


In this issue:

*Celebrating 100 Years in the Ola Babcock Miller Building!
*National Library Week classes and two Lunch & Learns
*Calling inventors: protecting your ideas
*April art display � Barbara Jones Prall
*Law Library art display - students from the Iowa Juvenile Home 

*New books added to our collection
*Newspaper articles from across Iowa are available in the NewsBank Database

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In the month of March 1908, the State Library divided its collection in the Capitol Building and moved across Grand Avenue to three floors of the newly completed east wing of the Historical, Memorial and Arts Building (now the Ola Babcock Miller Building). The Law Library remained in the Capitol and the General Collection, established in 1901, filled the shelves of the new library building. In celebration, an exhibit of State Library history, including historic photos of the library and biographies of present and past State Librarians, is on display in the rotunda of the Miller Building during March and April.

Visit the exhibit in the Miller Building at the corner of E. 12th and Grand Ave. The Library is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday.

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To celebrate National Library Week the State Library is offering state employees a week's worth of classes. Improve your online research skills and enhance your job performance by attending these one-hour sessions. Classes, held in the Miller Building, cover a wide range of topics and are FREE.

Select from:

-Finding Iowa Statistics
-Get the Most from EBSCOHost 
-Legal Research Using Westlaw
 -More than Just Google:  Internet Searching
-Reliable Health Information on the Web
-Sanborn Digital Maps
-Saving Your Documents: Iowa Publications Online
-Searching FirstSearch Databases
-Using an ICN Classroom: An Overview
-Using RSS: Keep Up With the Information Avalanche
-Using the Legislative Web Site

For class descriptions and to register for classes go to our Web site.

EBSCOHost, FirstSearch and Sanborn Digital Maps are information databases paid for by the State Library for its patrons. Access the databases from your computer through our Web site. To log in you will need a State Library card number. If you don't have a State Library card you can click here to register online.

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For National Library Week, the State Library will be offering films with Iowa themes during two Lunch and Learns. The films will be shown in Room 310 in the Miller Building. It will be first-come, first-served seating for the first 40 people.  Join us for one or both of these award winning documentaries!

Lost Nation: The Ioway tells the dramatic true tale of two brothers� struggle to save their people from inevitable American conquest, and the Ioway�s current struggle to reclaim and maintain their unique native history and culture.

Tuesday, April 15th, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For more information about this film go to
http://www.iowaymovie.com/film.htm.

A Little Salsa on the Prairie: The Changing Character of Perry, Iowa, chronicles the rapid ethnic diversification of the community and explores the significant change that began in Perry in the early 1990s when the complexion of a once predominantly white community shifted dramatically. An influx of Latino workers and their families came from as far away as Texas, California, Mexico and Central America to work at the local meat packing plant.

One of the film's producers, Jody Swilky, from Drake University, will be on hand to introduce the film and to answer questions afterwards. The film will be shown Thursday, April 17th. Introduction is at 11:15 a.m., the film starts at 11:30, and questions & answers will be from 12:30-12:45. For more information about this film go to http://littlesalsaontheprairie.com.

Feel free to bring a lunch with you to eat while you enjoy the show/s.

For more information contact the State Library Reference Desk: 515-281-4102, 800-248-4483, is@lib.state.ia.us.

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Do you have an invention or an inventive idea? Are you concerned about protecting your idea or invention? Learn the reasons for getting a patent, the resources available to inventors and how to navigate the most useful patent Web sites. Includes handouts and time for questions and answers. Karon King, Patent and Trademark Specialist at the State Library, will teach this class for Des Moines Public Schools Community Education. Wednesday, April 2nd, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Room 110 at Roosevelt High School. Roosevelt High School is located at 4419 Center Street in Des Moines, Iowa.

For more information and to register for this class go to: .

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The art of Barbara Jones Prall will be exhibited at the State Library during the month of April.  Ms. Prall is an award winning portrait & landscape artist from Marion, Iowa. She has painted many commissioned portraits, including that of former First Lady Christie Vilsack, which hangs in the State Library. Her paintings are done in a variety of styles including oil, acrylics, and watercolor. She says, "My goal is to express a positive view of life by celebrating beauty and joy in creation. I believe we all are meant to give something back and what I hope to give back is an appreciation of the beauty of each person, place or thing." For more information about Ms. Prall's work go to http://www.barbprall.com/.

To see this exhibit, visit the first floor of the State Library located in the Miller Building at the corner of E. 12th and Grand Ave. The Library is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday.

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Visit the Law Library on the second floor of the State Capitol Building to see an exhibit of art created by students at the Iowa Juvenile Home during art therapy classes. Descriptions of the motivation behind the work accompany each of these moving and evocative pieces.  For more information, click here. The art will be exhibited in the Law Library until it moves to the Capitol rotunda for a larger exhibit on April 15th, 16th, and 17th.

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Looking for an article you saw or heard about in the Des Moines Register or another Iowa newspaper? Try logging on to NewsBank! Find full-text articles on local news, issues, events, people and much more from current and archived issues of the following Iowa newspapers. Updated daily, it includes obituaries, editorials, announcements, sports, real estate and other sections.

The Des Moines Register
Cityview
The East Dubuque Register
The Cedar Rapids Gazette
The Burlington Hawk Eye
The Iowa City Press-Citizen
The Dubuque Telegraph Herald

Also included are:

Newsweek
Time
U.S. News & World Report

To log in you will need a State Library card number. If you don't have a State Library card you can click here to register online.

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Click here to see more about books about environmental concerns and global warming that have recently been added to our collection. State employees may request that any of these items be sent to them. To do so, please fill out the Request An Item Form. Non-state employees with a State Library card may check out books in person or request them through their local public libraries.

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Other services that the State Library offers free of charge:

*Didn't find the book or journal that you needed in our catalog?  State Library staff can supply you with a copy of almost any book, journal article, thesis, report, etc. that has been published.  This service is free for state employees.  To request that an item be sent to you click here or call 515-281-6920, 800-248-4483.

*Looking for a quiet place to concentrate on a project or to work while waiting for a meeting? The State Library has a number of computer work stations for state employees to use. We also have free wireless for our patrons who bring their laptops. You are welcome Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We are located in the Ola Babcock Miller Building at the corner of E. 12th and Grand Ave. in Des Moines.

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