The Patriot Spot

The Robert R. Muntz Library will feature the exhibit “The Great Bronze Age of China: An Exhibition from the People’s Republic of China” in the library’s reading room. The exhibit will run from July 7^th to August 8^th, 2008.

The exhibit is part of the traveling exhibit series provided by Humanities Texas, the Texas affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The exhibit provides an opportunity for the campus and the community to get a glimpse of the brilliant artistic achievements of the Chinese Bronze Age culture from its beginnings, around 2,000 B.C., to its final flowering in the second century B.C. The exhibit reveals the superb skills of ancient artists, and it enables us to learn about the religious, political, economic, and cultural aspects of a civilization which developed around the same time that Stonehenge in England was being built and that the principles of Judaism were being framed. With the upcoming Olympiad in Beijing, this exhibit is another way for us to learn more about China.

Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, conducts and supports public programs in history, literature, philosophy, and other humanities disciplines. Humanities Texas also supports various programs across the state such as lectures, oral history projects, teacher institutes, museum exhibitions, and documentary films. In addition, Texas Humanities circulates more than 5o exhibits, including the exhibit the library will be featuring.

The “Great Bronze Age of China” exhibit is free and open to the public. It can be viewed during library regular hours. For hours and information about the library, please visit our library website. For more information about the exhibit and other activities in the library, contact Angel Rivera, Outreach Librarian, at (903) 566-7165 or arivera@uttyler.edu.

Published by CQ Press, the Political Handbook of the World 2007 is another good book for country information. It has more emphasis on politics and government information for the countries listed. If you want to get a good sense of the political conditions in a particular country, this is the book for you. This is also the book to get information on various intergovernmental organizations. The book is divided in two parts.

• Governments. These are the country entries. Entries are in alphabetical order. You start with the common name of the country, then the official name. Next you get a brief political status paragraph followed by some basic information. This is followed by the essay portion which looks at the country and its politics. Of particular interest is the listing of political parties and groups in a country. This feature of political parties and groups makes the Political Handbook a popular option for students.
• Intergovernmental Organizations. These are organizations defined as “groups with memberships composed of more than two states, governing bodies that meet with some degree of regularity, and groups that possess permanent secretariats or other continuing means for implementing collective decisions” (from the Preface). This is therefore a selective lists. It is arranged alphabetically. Some of the listed organizations are: Group of Seven/Group of Eight (often referred to in the news as the G-7 or the G-8 when they added Russia), Gulf Cooperation Council, Organization of the Islamic Conference, and the Southern Cone Common Market (commonly known as MERCOSUR).

The Political Handbook of the World 2007 is located in the ready reference shelf behind the reference shelf. It is under the call number JF 37 .P6 2007. It is update annually. Older editions can be found upstairs in the third floor with the same call number, JF 37 .P6. Editions before 1999 can be checked out.

This week we are featuring a resource for country information and international affairs. The Statesman’s Yearbook, now in its 2008 edition, makes for a good one-stop resource for country information as well as some information on international organizations.

The book is divided into two parts:

• International Organizations. This section starts with an overview essay. The 2008 edition’s essay discusses globalization. The section then has entries on various international organizations starting with the United Nations. It then provides entries for other organizations by continent (Europe, Asia, so on). Some of the organizations listed include: Amnesty International, International Olympic Committee, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Organization of American States (OAS), and League of Arab States.
• Countries of the World A-Z. This section has entries on countries. For larger countries, there are listings for the territories as well. For example, there is an entry for the United States. Under the United States, there are, in addition to the information about the U.S., individual entries for each state and U.S. territories. Under Russia, you will also find individual entries for the various Russian republics. Country entries feature the following: key historical facts, territory and population, social statistics, climate, constitution and government (also included is information on the government current as of the book’s publication), international relations, economy, energy and natural resources, international trade, communications, social institutions, religion, culture, and diplomatic representation. At the end of each entry, there is a small list of materials for further reading.

Overall, this provides an excellent overview of any country in the world. The Yearbook gets its information from a variety of sources such as: The United Nations Statistical Yearbook, World Bank Reports, European Union Reports, and various government departments, embassies, offices as well as international organizations. The book has an index listing world leaders and another index for places and international organizations.

The Statesman’s Yearbook 2008 is available in the ready reference shelf (the one behind the reference desk). It is a green volume with the call number JA 51 .S7 2008. Previous editions can be found under the same call number, JA 51 .S7, in the third floor stacks. The current edition and the previous editions do not circulate.