Planning ahead

It's quite chilly outside. Several staff saw snow flurries yesterday. When I went to GALILEO to look for a database, I noticed In the Spotlight (on the right hand side of the home page) the All About Birds web site (yes, Virginia, there are web sites in GALILEO).

All About Birds is a website from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that includes information about watching birds, learning their nesting behaviors, attracting birds, indentifying them, recording observations, and getting involved in bird conservation. The site includes guides, images, maps, sounds, videos, and much more. There is also a link to the Macaulay Library, an archive of animal sounds and videos.

I thought- winter (see the first two sentences) would be a great time to prepare for Spring- study the birds, listen to their songs. Think warm thoughts!

kls

Who invented that?

Yesterday I talked about gathering stories about your family- what if you hear that Uncle Bill invented something? How do you find out if that's 'true'? Dear Myrtle (a genealogy blogger) shares the experience of one of her readers with Google Patent. Myrt notes how one can search by name or by invention.

Thinking of simple Christmas gifts from my youth, I searched for 'hula hoop'. Amazing how many patents there are for the wide variety of hoops.

Which lead me to GALILEO to search for 'hula hoop'. From the home page I selected the Company and Industry information link, then Company information, I left the 4 suggested databases and searched for 'hula hoop'. Interesting current articles about this long lived toy!

From stories about family to stories about companies - tie them together by using authoritative resources.

kls

And we talked

Thanksgiving is a delightfully American holiday when we celebrate our blessings which range from a variety of food stuffs to friends and family. Some travel to visit kin over the long weekend. A family reunion may take place - where cousins see each other for the first time in years. The conversations around the table vary from reminiscing about long gone relatives to catching up on life's current little details. If someone in your family has started collecting the stories about the extended family, where are they keeping those tales? My family has a wiki that is accessible by invitation and password. The stories collect, get edited and enjoyed. Here's another way to preserve those stories.

Story Corps is extending the National Day of Listening through the holiday season.
This holiday season, ask the people around you about their lives — it could be your grandmother, a teacher, or someone from the neighborhood. By listening to their stories, you will be telling them that they matter and they won’t ever be forgotten. It may be the most meaningful time you spend this year.

Go listen, record, and share the stories of our lives!

kls