Mission to Mars?

The three astronauts of Apollo 11: Neil Armstong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, have been making public appearances today in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. (It should be noted that it is rare for Neil Armstrong to make a public appearance.)

During one such public appearance Michael Collins, pilot of the Apollo 11 command module, advocated the need for a manned mission to Mars. Collins in particular emphasized that a potential return trip to the moon in coming years would only delay a much more important mission to Mars.

jwf

Future of the Moon and Songs Musing Upon the Moon

Today is the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing by humans as part of the Apollo 11 mission. Looking back is important, but so is looking ahead. This article discusses what is ahead for NASA and the future of the space program. The article is laid out in a timeline format.

This blog posting was posted in 2008 in celebration of the launch of an Indian space probe headed for the moon. The blog is about songs related to the moon and contains links to videos of the songs. Naturally, 'Walking on the Moon' by the Police is included.

Remember that you can look up articles related to the moon and relevant historical figures through Galileo. Get the password from your local Georgia librarian.

JWF

Lunar Landing

Today is the 40th anniversary of the launch of the first lunar landingmission by astronauts from the United States of America. Apollo 11 was the culmination of a decades long effort to send man into space, then sending men to the moon without landing, then finally sending a small craft holding two men to land on the surface of Earth's nearest heavenly neighbor. The Apollo program involved ten's of thousands of people working at all levels to achieve the ultimate objective, that of placing a man on the moon and returning him safely.

The first steps of Neil Armstrong onto the Sea of Tranquility in 1969 is the best remembered moment of man's journeys into space. However, the Apollo program was more than just those few steps, both before and after. Men died during the program, most notably the deaths of the astronauts in the testing phase of Apollo 1, and lunar landings took place after Apollo 11, landings that stayed on the surface longer and were able to do more experimentation than their predecessor.

President Nixon told astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt, the last two astronauts to walk on the moon, congratulations on being the last men to walk on the moon this century, referring to the twentieth century. This prediction would come true as future Apollo missions were shelved in favor of budget cuts and the 'reusable' space shuttle. NASA is now in the early phases of a return to the moon, the Orion project.

A great source of information and articles on the lunar landings is Galileo. You might try searching for 'Apollo program,' 'lunar landing,' and 'Apollo 11.' Get the current password from your Georgia librarian. You may also search for books related to the lunar missions in Worldcat a database in Galileo that helps you to identify the closest library that owns a particular book.

Another option is to watch the television miniseries 'From the Earth to the Moon.' Hosted and produced by Tom Hanks, the series is a dramatization of the Apollo program, with one episode devoted to each of the missions. Many consider the best episode to be the one about Apollo 12, the second lunar landing. The series is based upon a book by author Andrew Chaikin.

And remember that on July 20th in 1969, the world became a little bit smaller . . .

JWF

Unlimited

Yes, I spent the weekend resting and relaxing. I even cleaned house a bit- but at a leisurely pace!

Today, the systems librarian sent out an e-mail

Our subscription to Credo Reference was upgraded from 50 to Unlimited last week. I have finished loading all the new titles & new editions. We now have access to 409 Credo Reference ebooks.

North Metro had the unlimited access to Credo so the upgrade allows the Appalachian and Chattahoochee students to also use this valuable resource!

How do you access Credo? A couple of ways- through GALILEO or through the online catalog!

The records for each title have been imported to the Web catalog.
Type in Credo.
...805 records are pulled up...I'm not sure why...click View.
......click on electronic access link and voila you're in Credo.

If you do this off campus- you will need a login. Stop by the library to find out how to login to Credo direct (or go to GALILEO.

Online resources are a spectacular way to search for information. The 'new' Chattahoochee Technical College has a wealth of resources!

-kls

And what day is this?

July 6th was the first day of Summer Quarter for the 'new' Chattahoochee Technical College. There are new databases to talk about but not today.

I admit to being too tired to think and too tired to comment but I'm still reading others blogs. The Encyclopedia Britannica folks commented on Merriam Websters new words.

Staycation isn't as 'new' as we think.

Our language evolves in many ways,” says John Morse, president and publisher of Merriam-Webster. “As we’ve seen from our Open Dictionary feature on Merriam-Webster.com, people enjoy blending existing words, like combining ‘stay’ and ‘vacation’ to make staycation. Staycation is a good example of a word meeting a need and establishing itself in the language very quickly. Our earliest record of use is from 2005, but it seems to have exploded into popular use in 2007.”

I may take a 'staycation' this weekend - no housecleaning or yard work- just enjoying the summer weather

-kls

What to read

So many choices, so little time...speaking of Time...the Time critics Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo have selected the best 100 English language novels published since 1923 (so Mark Twain and Dickens aren't on the list).

There are links to the original reviews in Time. If there isn't a review in Time magazine, you could go to GALILEO and select NoveList.

Make your list and start reading....

The password to use GALILEO at home is available from your Georgia librarian.


-kls

It was the best of times

Are you familiar with the first line of Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities?

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

At Friday's last graduation for North Metro Technical College (soon we'll be Chattahoochee Technical College). Scott Rule started off his speech with the quote from Dickens.

I began to wonder....where is that book? This morning, I did a NetLibrary search to see if we had a copy available online...

VOILA- we do- three copies plus the Cliff Notes version...

If you're looking to brush up on your classic literature- check out NetLibrary. Remember you do need to create a password (in essence your library card) on campus to use NetLibrary off campus. Stop by the library we are open a bit during break. Flex hours!

-kls

Good by, so long....

An announcement from GALILEO:

The following databases will be discontinued beginning on July 1, 2009:
-College Source Online (ALL Consortia)
-Literature Online Complete (LION) (Technical Colleges)
-Oxford English Dictionary(Technical Colleges)
-Book Index with Reviews (Technical Colleges)

Fortunately we purchased the Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed for our Reference collection. There is a 'free' Oxford online. It obviously isn't as complete as the subscription Oxford.
There are literature databases in GALILEO but none quite like LION...
The admissions office and the guidance counselors can refer you to sources for college information.

Life goes on....

So use these resources while you can....the plug will be pulled June 30th at midnight.
The current password to use GALILEO is available from your Georgia librarian.

-kls

Bronze Age in Galileo

Searching for articles related to the Bronze Age of comics in Galileo can be a bit tricky.

Going to the 'search' page within Galileo, select bronze age and comic book* as your search terms. Remember that the * allows you to search for both comic and comics.

What databases to search? First, your defaults are Academic Search Complete and Research Library. Also, click on the 'show more databases' link to display more databases to search. From this list select Newspaper Source and Proquest Newspapers.

The search results gives you one article each from three of the respective databases. None of the articles are hugely helpful, the closest being an interview with an artist on the difference between drawing comic characters and characters from the bronze age of antiquity.

The suggestion here is to search for articles related to comic events of the bronze age, using the same databases. A search for Crisis Infinite Earths leads to several articles related to the Crisis on Infinite Earths miniseries. A search for Marvel comics and Secret Wars leads to an article relating to the creation of the 'black' costume Spider Man found during and after the Secret Wars.


JWF

The Bronze Age

Several posts ago, it was mentioned in this venue that the North Metro library has acquired a copy of Watchmen. Watchmen was a comic book miniseries released in the mid-1980's. The comics were later compiled into graphic novel format and in 2009 a successful movie adaptation of the books was released.

Watchmen is significant for another reason. Some use the release of the Watchmen miniseries to denote the 'end' of the so-called Bronze Age of comics and the start of the Modern Age of comics. (It should be noted that there are many other possibilities for dating the start of the Modern Age and the end of the Bronze Age, including the release of the Batman miniseries the Dark Knight Returns.)

Comics books are considered to have undergone four defined periods, or 'ages.' These include the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age, and the Modern Age. The Modern Age is often referred to by many titles, including the Platinum Age, Diamond Age, and Iron Age. One column by Shawn O'Rourke suggested that of the four ages, only the Golden Age deals with comics exclusively. The other ages deal with the idea of superheroes themselves on the grounds that superheroes expanded into television, film, etc.

Again, there are many opinions as to when one age started and another ended. This is a matter that is subjective in nature. Opinions will vary depending upon who you speak with. Different comic book companies also vary in how they define the start and end of these ages on an internal basis. Most sources will tend to define the start of the Bronze Age as sometime in the early 1970's. Perhaps the latest date for the start of the Bronze Age is the release of Giant Size X-Men in 1975.

The Bronze Age also marks the years that Marvel comics overtook DC comics as the leading publisher in the industry. (Remember that Marvel published the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, X-Men, etc., while DC published Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, etc.) Independent publishers and creators began to make some headway in the industry. This is marked by the publication in 1977 of the 1st issue (out of a 300 issue miniseries!) of Cerebus by Dave Sims.

A big event in the Bronze Age was the death of Spider-Man/Peter Parker's girlfriend Gwen Stacy at the hands of the Green Goblin in Amazing Spider-Man 121 in 1973. This significant comic death would have a long impact upon the Spider-Man universe. It also demonstrated an already underway slow movement of the genre as a whole toward darker themes and storylines, a dytopic movement that would culminate in the Modern Age.

Minority superheroes, vampire/horror comics, and a brief spat of team-up books (usually featuring a popular character and a guest character in each issue) became popular during the Bronze Age. Certain styles and genres fell from popularity and were almost extinct by the end of the period, particularly westerns, romance comics, and war comics. Teen comics, best identified with Archie comics, would adapt and survive.

The release of Giant Size X-Men 1 cannot be underestimated. Giant-Size introduced a new lineup of X-Men, one that was more diverse culturally and ethnically. Created by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum, the 'new' X-Men became popular with fans, launching a new era of team superhero comics. The publication of X-Men 94, the new team's second appearance, would move the title out of the dregs of reprints. Cockrum would soon work with writer Chris Claremont to flesh out the characters. Claremont and artist John Byrne would take the series into the stratosphere of popularity. The death of Marvel Girl/Jean Grey/Phoenix in issue 137 is considered by many to be one of the great moments in comic history. The X-Men franchise would be established as the dominant franchise at Marvel by the end of the Bronze Age and would lead to many immitators at both Marvel and DC. The X-Men, in the modern age, would transition into cartoons and film. Wolverine, arguably the most popular X-Man, would be one of the first 'anti-heroes' to gain popularity in comics, trailblazing for a plethora of similar heroes in the Modern Age.

The Bronze Age would come to an end during the mid-1980's. Some say that the release of the Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen were part of the Bronze Age and define its end. Others say these books are considered Modern Age and mark that period's beginning.

One significant moment near the end of the Bronze Age was the release, in 1984, of Secret Wars by Marvel. This was an epic 12 issue miniseries featuring many of the main characters from the Marvel Universe. Secret Wars would pave the way for a slew of 'event' storylines that would later crossover across multiple titles for several months, a style that DC later adopted.

Perhaps the best demarcation for the end of the Bronze Age is the release of Crisis on Infinite Earths by DC in 1985. Crisis, like Secret Wars, would pave the way for the large multititle crossovers of the Bronze Age. Crisis also helped to solve some problems for DC. DC had decades of continuity to deal with regarding its characters. Mainstay characters also had issues that needed to be sorted out to move them forward, such as the near infinite power level of Superman. DC decided to solve these problems through a massive miniseries that had far reaching aftershocks. Massive amounts of continuity were done away with or altered. The idea of multiple earths, such as Earth-2, were eliminated to avoid confusion. Some heroes, such as the Batman, were moderately altered with regard to their character and background. Superman and Wonder Woman were rebooted. Superman's origin was redone by John Byrne, making the Man of Steel less godlike in his power level. Supergirl and the Silver Age flash died heroically in the Crisis and would not be seen again for many years. The Crisis itself would be revisited in the Modern Age with the release of Infinite Crisis and Final Crisis.

More on the Bronze Age and the other ages, including researching them in Galileo, to follow . . . .

JWF

Yesterday

Yesterday JWF mentioned how you can set Google to display in Klingon. He mentioned that the Bible and Shakespeare had been translated into Klingon but he didn't provide links. Well, it made me curious.

I began to wonder are those Urban Legends or do those translations really exist?

Using Google (in English) I found the Bible in Klingon. I found the Klingon Institute has translated Hamlet. I found Sonnet #18 and other references to Shakespeare but not the whole body of work translated into Klingon.

Well, that's Google but what about GALILEO?

Using the basic search tab - I did a search for Klingon AND Shakespeare limiting the results to peer reviewed- no junk here...and I chose 9 databases: Book Collection:Non-Fiction, NoveList, Literary Reference Center, Science and Technology Collection, Literature Online, Academic Search Complete, Book Index with Reviews and Research Library.

You do know how to search through multiple databases in GALILEO, don't you? If not stop by and we'll show you this incredibly useful tool.

On with the search-
Are you a betting person?
Which resources had something about Klingon AND Shakespeare?
Were there any hits at all for Klingon AND Shakespeare in GALILEO??

Surprisingly - yes.

Academic Search Complete - 1
Book Index with Reviews - 4
Research Library - 2

So go ahead- dive into GALILEO and read all about it! You may get the current password to use GALILEO at home from your Georgia librarian.



-kls

Klingonese

The search engine Google has a tool that allows you to display the homepage and interface in a different language. One of these languages is Klingon. The Klingons are a fictional species of aliens from the Star Trek franchise of television shows and films. The Klingons have a number of fans, the more dedicated of whom dress up like actual Klingons and have translated Shakespeare and the Bible into Klingon.

You can translate web pages into or display Google in a variety of languages. Doing so is as simple as going by clicking on the 'languages' link from the Google main page.

How many ways to say....

The English language is a wonderfully frustrating way to communicate. We can use one word for X, yet use the same sounding word for Y. There are tools to help us understand what a word means and it's origin in the vocabulary. This morning I read, Gregory McNamee's thoughts about Oxford English Dictionary and the English language!

Mr. McNamee included the Monty Python Sketch:

Here's a link to the script in case you can't quite understand the accents.

We do have access to the complete onlineOxford English Dictionary through GALILEO - at least for now. We purchased the print 2nd edition [PE 1625 . 08] if you'd like to rustle through the pages. There is a free Oxford English Dictionary. It isn't as complete - well, it is free - but it's better than nothing!

Find out what those words really mean and where they came from!

-kls

Get the password to access GALILEO at home from your Georgia librarian.

Pulitzer Prize

Hello.

Those fine folks at the Pulitzer Prize recently announced their most recent crop of winners.

The library has the winning book in the Biography or Autobiography category, as well as a finalist in this category. The winner was the book American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meachem. This book deals with the years of the Presidency of Andrew Jackson during the 1820's and 1830's.



The book that was not selected but was a finalist was the Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century, written by Steve Coll. This book looks at Osama Bin Laden, along with other prominent members of his extended family.

If you are interested in either of these books, please drop by the library and check them out. You can also find a review of the two books in the Galileo database Book Index with Reviews, which contains reviews of non-fiction books. This should be a good tool to help you learn more about these two books.

(Note with regard to licensing of the Bin Laden image:Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.)

JWF

Shaking the tree

Summer time is a superb time to get together with kin. The beach, the mountains, the backyard...all places to 'be' with one another. Sometimes you want to share stories about those relatives who no longer can join you in person. Yet, you've told all the stories you know!

Have you looked at someones WWI draft registration card?
Or read a death certificate or marriage license?

These primary source documents can be found in Ancestry Library Edition through GALILEO on campus. ProQuest has been working on making navigating within Ancestry just a tad easier....

We are excited to announce the launch of the new site-wide navigation at the top of every Ancestry.com page. This change came about after a lot of research and gathering feedback from people who use the site every day.

You will find that it is quicker and easier for you to get where you want to go on the site. read more

...

So before the living get together, find something new to talk about when you mention old Uncle Sam - check out Ancestry on campus!

-kls

All the news

Old newspapers are fun to read just to see how much has not changed in the way humans treat each other. Scandal sells, always has.

The Digital Library of Georgia has digitized some Historic Newspapers of Georgia. The Macon Telegraph from 1826-1908 is available online:

Myron Bartlett established the Macon Telegraph in 1826 as a weekly newspaper three years after the incorporation of the city. For the price of three dollars for a year's subscription, readers were treated to reports on the political and economic affairs of the state, reprinted poetry, and local advertisements for hotels, steamboats, and otter skins. ....read more.....

The Archives has an easy to use search feature, the images are pretty clear, and the magnifier makes it possible to read each word!

I collect family information for fun. Some of my kin are from the middle of Georgia. I looked up a family name - Brittain. First story on the list is a fascinating account of a lady (no relation) who had come to Atlanta and made a name for herself in charity circles - she had evidence of the Chief Detective in Atlanta making improper proposals to a young girl (17 Feb 1892, pg 8). The Chief accused Mrs. Brittain of blackmail. Yes, 1892- not 2009.

Be reassured or appalled by reading the historic newspapers in the Digital Library of Georgia- select Media and scroll down the list to see what was happening in Georgia!

-kls

Our State Fair is...

The tune started running through my head as I read the press release:

The Georgia State Fair, Macon, 1886-1960 online collection consists of 151 black-and-white photographs, and four advertising fliers, from the Georgia State Fair records held by the Middle Georgia Archives at the Macon-Bibb County Public Libraries. These photographs document the evolution of the state fair in Macon from 1886 until 1960. A group portrait of the executive committee of the Georgia State Agricultural Society is the earliest piece in the collection. The majority of the photographs depict county agricultural exhibits whose function was to promote a variety of farm produce and homemade items. These displays include cotton, seeds, vegetables, preserved food, clothes, quilts, furniture, and more. Exhibits from the early 1940s are of interest due to the appearance of slogans supporting the World War II home front effort. One notable picture during this era shows a demonstration of a community canning project. Displays for agricultural associations and state government agencies, such as the Highway Department and the Fish and Game Commission, can also be seen in this collection. Other photographs capture fair culture beyond the exhibitions: 4-H clubs, farm machinery, livestock judging, amusement rides, the midway, side shows, food booths, and parades. Macon mayor B. F. Merritt appears in several photographs along with other notable Macon citizens. Former Georgia governor Marvin Griffin is also pictured.

The Georgia State Fair, Macon, 1886-1960 is a project of the Digital Library of Georgia in association with the Middle Georgia Archives as part of Georgia HomePLACE. The project is supported with federal LSTA funds administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Georgia Public Library Service, a unit of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

You may get the password to use GALILEO from your Georgia public librarian - though I think the Georgia State Fair is readily available through the Digital Library of Georgia.

-kls

Bon Appetit

We're doing a periodical inventory in preparation for the 'new' college coming online July 1, 2009. One of the campuses subscribes to Bon Appetit for their culinary arts program. I wondered - is Bon Appetit available in one of the databases in GALILEO?

The easiest way to find which database carries a periodical is
... to select Journals A-Z
.......search for the title
..........and voila - there it is

Which database do you think provides articles from Bon Appetit?

You'll never guess - I was amazed - it's LexisNexis Academic.

Yes, LexisNexis Academic....I think of LexisNexis Academic as the place to go for legal, business and news information- but there is Bon Appetit availble from 2008.

Read all the fine articles from Bon Appetit through LexisNexis Academic. You get the password to use GALILEO at home from your Georgia librarian.

-kls

Watchmen at the Library

Time magazine, in the year 2005, compiled a list of what they believed to be the 'greatest' English language novels written since the year 1923. The only graphic novel, or a novel written in the format of a comic book, was Watchmen.

Watchmen is arguably the most critically acclaimed mainstream comic book/graphic novel of all time. Released in 1986 as a twelve issue miniseries, Watchmen was later compiled into a graphic novel format. The series was written by Alan Moore, with art by Dave Gibbons. The world of Watchmen is that of an Earth with masked superheroes, only one of which actually has super powers. The setting is rather dytopian, with the USA and the USSR poised on the edge of a nuclear holocaust.

Watchmen was one of several comics to come out in the mid/late 1980's that had a profound effect on the industry. Watchmen, and related comics such as the Dark Knight Returns, saw the world of super heroes more in shades of grey rather than black or white. This saw a rise in popularity of 'anti-heroes' such as Lobo, the Punisher, and Wolverine for much of the next few decades. Watchmen also paved the way for the explosive growth of the graphic novel. Indeed, the graphic novel format is so popular that most comics are written in six or twelve story arcs so that they can be easily republished in graphic novel format.

Finally, Watchmen was eventually adapted as a film, which was noted for its violence and graphic content. It was also noted for remaining very faithful to the comic.

The library has a copy of Watchmen. Please drop by to check it out if you are interested.

JWF

Who has it?

Have you ever searched for a letter or diary or family papers? You're sure the papers were given to a library but which one?

You try World Cat through GALILEO and you find the family papers listed. If you're slightly 'search savvy' you can navigate the search screen and select the archives tab with the results. But what if you aren't 'search savvy'?

In scrolling through GALILEO I stumbled across :

ArchiveGrid which "provides online access to nearly a million descriptions of archival collections owned by thousands of libraries, museums, historical societies and archives worldwide. ArchiveGrid is an important destination for searching for historical documents, personal papers and family histories held in archives."

I did a quick search for my great uncle - Lawrence London. Tons of Lawrence and London showed up. I thought I'd never find my particular Lawrence London. ArchiveGrid gave me a clue (World Cat doesn't give clues)-

Searching for a name? Try lawrence london (there's a hyperlink which when clicked takes one right to the search- very handy) as a proximity search.

ArchiveGrid put the two words in quotes, which did narrow the search to a bit over 200 items- what really helped was when I added his middle name! Bingo. That gave me four specific sites - one of which was my great uncles papers at UNC. These links were also in World Cat but then Archive Grid is an OCLC product.

There is a note on GALILEO that ArchiveGrid is not available remotely. I hope it will soon be as readily available as World Cat. Until it is- stop by the library and check it out!

I will agree with one reviewer - ArchiveGrid is user friendly!



- kls