Dog-days are coming

No, this isn't a reference to the dog cloning in Korea.
You can read about that scientific process in LexisNexis.

The dog-days I'm referring to are the Dog-Days of August. Where in the world did that phrase come from?

I looked in the Oxford English Dictionary On-line (yes, it's in GALILEO).
I found this definition:

1. The days about the time of the heliacal rising of the Dog-star; noted from ancient times as the hottest and most unwholesome period of the year. They have been variously calculated, as depending on the greater dog-star (Sirius) or the lesser dog-star (Procyon); on the heliacal, or (by some in modern times) the cosmical rising of either of these (both of which also differ in different latitudes); and as preceding, following, or both preceding and following, one of these epochs; and their duration has been variously reckoned at from 30 to 54 days. In the latitude of Greenwich, the cosmical rising of Procyon now takes place about July 27, that of Sirius about Aug. 11; in Mediterranean latitudes, the former is somewhat later, the latter earlier. The heliacal rising is some days later than the cosmical; and all the phenomena now take place later in the year than in ancient times, owing to the precession of the equinoxes. Thus very different dates have been assigned for the dog-days, their beginning ranging from July 3 to Aug. 15. In current almanacs they are said to begin July 3 and end Aug. 11 (i.e. to be the 40 days preceding the cosmical rising of Sirius).

So be prepared for hot and sticky and unpleasant!

Every citizen of Georgia can get the password to use GALILEO at home from their librarian. The resources mentioned in this blog are available through the NMTC portion of GALILEO and may not be available with the public library password.

Georgia College 411

Another resource in GALILEO (and available straight from the web at http://gacollege411.org/)-

GACollege411 is sponsored by the Georgia Student Finance Commission .

• Take practice tests for the SAT, ACT, and the GRE
• Compare the higher education institutions in Georgia by size, cost, number of students
• Create a free account which allows you to keep track of what you need to do to get into college - (perfect for 6th graders through 9th graders to let them see what they need to do!).
• Discover what education it takes to do your dream job
• Find out what jobs are in high demand in Georgia

The coming soon section promises to be of great value to all students. You'll be able to request and send transcripts as well as apply to a college in Georgia.

Ships for Victory

What a magnificent new resource in GALILEO.

Ships for Victory
From the collection . . .
J.A. Jones Construction Company and Liberty Ships in Brunswick, Georgia

The online collection consists of eighty-four black-and-white photographs from the J.A. Jones Construction Company collection at the Brunswick-Glynn County Library that depict the company’s World War II cargo ship building activities in its Brunswick, Georgia shipyard from 1943 to 1945. The images document the life cycle of the Liberty and Knot ships built in Brunswick: from keel-laying and hull construction to christening and launch. Construction techniques are visible in many of the photographs, and several images feature the shipyard’s male and female laborers and management staff. In addition, the launch photographs feature ship sponsors and other dignitaries. Of particular note is a series of photographs depicting Christmas Day, 1944, when the shipyard workers volunteered to work through the holiday, donating their time-and-a-half pay as a Christmas gift to the nation.

Go to GALILEO
......Select the tab Databases A to Z
..........Jump to S
..............Ships for Victory

The password to use GALILEO at home is available to every citizen of Georgia from their Librarian.

First Day of School

Can it be? Yes, in some parts of the country, school is beginning today for K-12.
In Georgia, Cherokee County started the new school year today.

According to Chase's 2005 Calendar of Events- August is both "Children's Eye Health and Safety Month" and "Children's Vision and Learning Month".

Getting a child's vision checked before school starts is very important. Most information is processed through our eyes- if a child can't see clearly, they won't learn as quickly!

Eye doctors are everywhere (Target, Sears, For Eyes, Pearle Vision, etc)- it's not difficult to find an optometrist to check your child's eyesight!

Chase's 2005 Calendar of Events can be found in the Reference section of the library.