Leap Day

It comes only once every four years—happy Leap Day! Magnum presents images of great leaps and jumps.

Time is on my side..

Daylight Saving Time begins March 9, 2008

The official U.S. Clock

The World Clock: Time Zones

The history of Daylight saving time

The Death Clock

Interested in Foreign Languages?

The BBC has a website devoted to the study and learning of some languages. They offer four beginners' courses for French, German, Italian, and Spanish-plus have some basic phrase guides to other languages that you can use to help prepare you for a vacation.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882)

One of my favorite poems when I was a child was "Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I would curl up in a chair with the volume of children's verse that it was in and read it aloud, just because I loved the rhyme and meter of the verse. In addition to this and many other well-known poems, Longfellow also translated Dante's The Divine Comedy. This translation has been paired with illustrations by Gustave Doré and is republished every few years.

Library Usage Statistics

In the recent Pew Information searches that solve problems: How people use the internet, libraries, andgovernment agencies when they need help report, it shows that nationally the Internet is edging ahead of professionals in providing answers to questions in certain areas. Even with the preference for the Internet, libraries are still used by over 1/2 of Americans and the largest group of library users are members of Generation Y. For a quick summary or to link to the questionaire used, visit Pew Reports.

Looking for a Good Book?

To see some good titles, check out the Book Industry Awards page created by the American Booksellers Association.

A website I have never even contemplated the existence of...

I heard about this website, while listening to the radio. I have to admit, I was a little shocked to see that it even seems to be visited by others. I mean, most people I know seem ambivalent about-if they do not actually dislike sauerkraut.

Check out our new online digs!

The MSCTC website has gone through a makeover. During that process, the library page became pages. To get directly to the main library page, which provides links to the other pages, click here. If you have any questions about it, just let us know.

Looking for a book in a language other than English?

I have to admit, we really do not have many books in languages other than English. We may be able to help you find some titles, though. If you go to the MnLINK Gateway, you can search all of the public and academic libraries in Minnesota (Select "All Catalogs for MnLINK Gateway [shared]" under Profile)-or even WorldCat (Select "ELM - WorldCat [shared]" under Profile), which contains many libraries from around the world. For best results, use the advanced search feature. There, you can even limit the results presented to you by language of the item (I wouldn't recommend using this option, though).

Then, you can submit a request for the item, by clicking "Get it." From there, you will need to know your library barcode (the 14-digit number from the back of your student ID) and your password (generally, your last name). Leave the pick up location as "1. My Library." On the next screen, select "Request via ILL." Finally, on the "My Requests" page, you will need to specify the pickup location of "Managed by MnPALS."

Just remember, these books aren't located at MSCTC, so it may take a week or two to arrive. Plus, some requests may not be able to be filled-even if you do find a record for the item you want.

The Story of Valentine's Day

Regardless of how we now celebrate Valentine's Day-roses, chocolates, jewelry, and fancy dinners, this holiday has gone through many changes through the years. From its early roots as a Roman celebration of fertility, through the three saints who may have contributed to the legend, to the stories of some famous romances, the History Channel has prepared a mini-website about Valentine's Day that includes it all for the romantics out there. For just a basic history, though, check out the Valentine's day entry for This Day in History.

Kapalıçarşı

Curious Expeditions has posted a gallery of photos taken at Istanbul's Kapalıçarşı, or Grand Bazaar. It has been in existence since the 1400s. With over 60 streets and more then 4400 shops, the world’s first mall is a buzzing hive of activity, catering to the shopping whims of the some 400,000 people who might visit it on a given day. It also must meet the needs of the 25,000 shopkeepers who attend to them, and a couple of small mosques can be found tucked in between the many shops.

Questions from all around

It appears it's the season for...travelling-or at least making plans to travel. I have had two people approach our reference desk with passport-related questions this week, in addition to Doreen's post from last Friday about some websites to use to get your tickets for Spring Break. To help those of you traveling outside of the country, please check out the U.S. Department of State's Passport site to see what you will need (and any deadlines you may need to follow to obtain the appropriate documents to travel, if you don't already have them).

Just remember to send me a post card from whatever sunny place you visit! You know, I'd even accept post cards from those not so sunny places, too... (Just kidding-you really don't have to send me any postcards)

Happy Travels!

:)

Spring Break and Travel for Students

Student airfare deals abound, considering the small number of student travel agencies in existence. Most student airfares are negotiated through SATA (Student Air Travel Association) and are for full time students or youth under 26.* Remember to check any student airfares against an aggregator to ensure you've found the best bargain, and check the plus plus! On to the main event: available current student airfare deals (click on the link below to see 'em all): http://studenttravel.about.com/od/studentairfare/qt/airfare_deals.htm

TV Converter Box Coupon Program

TV Converter Box Coupon Program
Details about this federal government program for households wishing to continue using their analog TV sets after February 17, 2009, when "all full-power television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch to 100% digital broadcasting." Learn whether you need a converter box, how to obtain coupons to be applied towards the cost of the box, where to purchase one, and related information. Available in several languages.
From LII
URL: https://www.dtv2009.gov/

Columbia U. Creates Web Site to Promote Black History

From the Wired Campus:
Columbia University has created a Web site to educate elementary and secondary students about the civil-rights and black-power movements spanning 1954 through 1975. The site, called the Amistad Digital Resource, includes audio and video clips of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil-rights leaders. It also includes FBI documents and maps where civil-rights demonstrations took place.
Amistad Digital Resource

The month of Romance

During this February, we thought you might be interested in finding out about romances (as in the genre and its variants). The Romance Writers of America have compiled some information about this genre including descriptions of the differences between the subgenres and some statistics.