Reference Book Update: The United States Government Manual

We featured The United States Government Manual (link to the online edition at GPO Access) as a Reference Book of the Week back in 2008 at this post. If you read the earlier post, you can get a description of this excellent resource, and how it can be useful in getting to know the structure of the federal government. Well, the manual has been updated once again:

• For access to a print version, the Muntz Library has a copy of the 2008-2009 edition. You can find it in the library’s ready reference collection (the small shelves behind the reference desk). It is under the call number JK 421 .A3 2008-2009.
• The federal government has recently released the 2009-2010 edition. You can find a free copy online at GPO Access. The direct link to this edition is here. You can access previous editions at the link provided above.

Annenberg Classroom

Want to learn more about our Constitution? While this resource is designed for teachers and includes lesson plans and other neat resources, I think this would be a great place for any of us who want a “refresher”.  http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/

Muntz Library Features Book Display for Constitution Day 2009

U.S. Constitution and Quill Pen

The Robert R. Muntz Library is featuring a book display in observance of Constitution Day. Constitution Day is observed each year on September 17 to commemorate the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787. As part of the library’s educational mission and to promote learning more about this important document that is the foundation of the United States, we are displaying some books and material that may be of interest. The display is located in the library’s second floor next to the Circulation Desk.

The following books and materials are inside the display case. Like other displays, books and A/V material on display is available to be checked out. If you look them up in the catalog, and they show as checked out, they are “checked out” to our display case. Just let us know at the reference desk, and we will be happy to open the case so you can take the book and read it. We really want people to read our books, which is why we display them. Note that A/V material is usually kept behind circulation. If you wish to check it out (after the display), jot down the call number and request it at circulation. Books, unless otherwise noted, are usually in the library’s general collection in the third floor.

DVDs:

• You Can’t Say That: “Politically Correct” Free Speech. JC 591 .Y68 2004.
• Key Constitutional Concepts. KF 5130 .S9 K3.
• Our Constitution: A Conversation. KF 4550 .O87 2005.

Books:

• Peter Spier, We the People: The Constitution of the United States. 342.73 S755w (CML-Dewey).
• Ellen Alderman and Caroline Kennedy, The Right to Privacy. KF 1262 .A97 1997.
• Jack N. Rakove, Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution. KF 4541 .R35 1997.
• Craig R. Smith, To Form a More Perfect Union. KF 4541 .S58 1993.

In addition, the display features highlights of the following online resources. Both are freely available online:

• The Electronic Frontier Foundation.
• Reporters Without Borders‘ Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-Dissidents.

For more information about Constitution Day, you can visit the library. You can also check out these other websites:

• From the Law Library of Congress, part of the Library of Congress, information about Constitution Day. This includes links to the various pieces of legislation that have led to the observance as we know it today.
• The National Constitution Center. Here is their page on Constitution Day. Their page for the observance has some good educational resources including a challenge: can you pass the citizenship test?
• Resources for observing Constitution Day, from the National Archives.

Reference Book of the Week: United States History: A Multicultural, Interdisciplinary Guide to Information Sources

We wrap up our July theme of celebrating American Independence with a feature for researchers on United States History. This week we are featuring United States History: A Multicultural, Interdisciplinary Guide to Information Sources by Anna H. Perrault and Ron Blazek as our Reference Book of the Week. This is a tool that librarians often use; I am recommending it to our students and researchers as well. I think students will find it specially useful. This second edition has been expanded, and it now features sources on diverse topics such as the Asian experience, religion, science and technology, and popular culture. This is in addition to what readers already expect in a guide like this. It is a great guide to resources in topics like politics and government, economic history, and military history. In addition to reference books and print sources, the expanded coverage in this edition also includes online databases, Websites, CD-ROM titles and even microform items. There are some older standard works, but most of the coverage emphasizes resources with publication dates from the 1980s to 2002.

The guide features 1,250 major entries. It is divided in two parts. First, there is an introductory section for general sources. The second part then covers specific topics in United State History. You get bibliographical information for the items listed as well as a very good annotation that not only tells you what the book or material is about, but it also considers the audience for a particular work and gives small hints on how the particular work is useful, say as a supplement to another work or topic.

The way to make a resource like this work is find the items you are interested in. For most materials, you can then look them up in the library catalog to see if the library owns them. If not, you can do an Interlibrary Loan request. For instance, you could use this book to help you find other good books on Civil War maps or on Native Americans and civil rights. To help readers further, the book also features an “Author/Title Index” and a “Subject Index” in the back. The book is published by Libraries Unlimited, which is known for its subject guide books. If you need a good place to learn more about United States Independence or any other U.S. topic, this is a very good place to start.

This book is located in the library’s Reference Section in the second floor. The call number is E 178 .P45 2003.

Reference Book of the Week: Milestone Documents in American History

I would like to start by reminding our local readers to visit our library display, “Celebrating American Independence,” in the library’s third floor. It will be available until the end of the month. To go with the theme, we have chosen an excellent collection of documents from American history. This week we are featuring Milestone Documents of American History.

This four volume set contains a collection of significant documents in American history from the Revolutionary Era to the twenty-first century. For example, you can read items ranging from Patrick Henry’s “Liberty or Death” speech to the Bybee Torture Memo. The four volumes are organized in chronological order (1763-1823; 1824-1887; 1888-1955; 1956-2003).  One thing I like about reference works like this one is that you can find various items in one place. This allows you to compare documents as well as see how certain lines of thought progressed over time. These documents cover issues such as politics, economics, science, gender equality, and religious freedom.

This resource has more than just the text of historical documents. The work also includes various features that are useful for students and educators. Some of those features are:

• An overview gives you a quick summary of the document and why it is important.
• The context places it in its historical time.
• You get a note about the document’s author.
• A time line of key events related to the document.
• An explanation and analysis of the document.
• An audience note discusses the audience of the time. Who was this document addressing?
• The impact note tells us the historical influence, or why we still read it now.
• a references list for further reading.

In conclusion, this may be the best reason to look at this work: “understanding these historical documents and their context will prepare students to better appreciate the complexities of the twenty-first century” (from the Introduction, xv). In this month when the United States celebrates its birthday as a nation, what better way to celebrate than to look at the documents that shaped the nation? This is an excellent tool to go back and read the words that have empowered the nation (like Cesar Chavez’s Commonwealth Address), the words that have moved so many people (say JFK’s Inaugural Address), the words that at times were shameful (for example, the Chinese Exclusion Act). It is also a great tool for students studying rhetoric, history, and communications. And while some readers may argue why some other primary document was not included, the book serves as a very good starting point.

The set can be found in the library’s Reference Collection in the second floor. The call number is E173 .M62 2008.

Library Features Display Celebrating U.S. Independence

Signing of Declaration of Independence

The Robert R. Muntz Library is featuring a library display to “Celebrate American Independence.” This coming Saturday is the 4th of July holiday commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We have chosen to create a month-long display of books about the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War, and Early American history. Come visit the library and see the display in the third floor display cases.

Like all our displays, this one is open and free to the public. It is viewable during library regular hours.

We have placed the following books in the display case along with other materials, including the text of the Declaration of Independence for our visitors to read.  All books are usually located in the library’s General Collection in the third floor, unless otherwise noted. The list is in call number order:

• Cokie Roberts, Founding Mothers: the Women Who Raised Our Nation. This one is part of the Bestseller Collection, located in the second floor Reading Room. E 176 .R63.
• Ray Raphael, A People’s History of the American Revolution. E 208 .R25 2002.
• Gordon S. Wood, The Radicalism of the American Revolution. E 209 .W65 1993.
• Christopher Hibbert, Redcoats and Rebels: the American Revolution through British Eyes. E 230 .H31 2002. A look at the war from the British perspective.
• H.T. Dickinson, Britain and the American Revolution. E 249.3 .B69 1998.
• Charles Royster, A Revolutionary People at War: the Continental Army and American Character, 1775-1783. E 259 .R69 1996
• Sylvia R. Frey, Water from the Rock: Black Resistance in a Revolutionary Age. A look at Blacks in the war. E 269 .N3 F74 1992.
• Thomas Jefferson, The Portable Thomas Jefferson. A small collection of his major writings, including the Declaration of Independence. E 302 .J442 1975.
• Bernard Bailyn, To Begin the World Anew: the Genius and Ambiguities of the American Founders. E 302.1 B16 2004.
• Edward G. Lengel, General George Washington: a Military Life.  E 312.25 .L46 2005.
• David McCullough, John Adams. The biography by the prominent historian who has also written about Harry Truman. E 322 .M38 2001.
• Ralph Ketcham, James Madison: a Biography. E 342 .K46 1990.
• Rand McNally Atlas of the American Revolution. This atlas is usually found in the Reference Collection, 2nd Floor. REF G 1201 .S3 N4 1974.
• The Federalist Papers. The writings of Madison, Jay, and Hamilton in support of the U.S. Constitution. JK 154 1966.

Except for the reference book above, all these books are available to be checked out. If you look them up in the catalog, and they show as checked out, they are “checked out” to our display case. Just let us know at the reference desk, and we will be happy to open the case so you can take the book and read it. We really want people to read our books, which is why we display them. As for the reference book, if you really want to check it out, let us know. We can probably work something out.

I would like to remind our readers that if they have any questions on this or other topics, they can visit our reference desk, or visit the library’s website to access our resources. You can also find complete contact information in our website so you can call us, e-mail us, or chat with a librarian.

Learn more about Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor

President Obama has nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. She would be the first Latina woman to the court should she be confirmed. There is a lot of interest in Judge Sotomayor, so I have rounded up a few sources that can help readers learn more about the judge.

• The Law Library of the Library of Congress has put together a selective bibliography Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. There are a lot of good links here.
• When a judge is nominated to a federal bench, whether it be a district court or the Supreme Court, they have to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary has all nominees fill out a questionnaire. Here is that questionnaire, so you can see the actual questions. This link includes Sotomayor’s answers.
• The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has issued report on Sonia Sotomayor. (link to press release; link to the full report. Note the full report is 88 pages in PDF). This report is fairly comprehensive and looks at the judge’s record on civil rights issues such as racial justice, voting rights, women’s rights, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion.
• The Alliance for Justice has issued what it labels as an in-depth report of Sonia Sotomayor’s record. The report’s title is “Access to Justice.” Link to the AFJ’s press release here. Direct link to the report itself here (Note: PDF file; the report is 14 pages). This report is part of a series of reports that AFJ is providing. This particular one covers the following:  “access to justice issues encompass a number of procedural questions including justiciability, preemption, court-stripping, sovereign immunity, attorneys’ fees, interpretation of statutes of limitation and class-action certification. The report examines Judge Sotomayor’s record in each of these key areas and is based on her record both as a district and appeals court judge.” If you visit the website, you can find other reports. AFJ is a public interest group, and it describes itself as “a national association of environmental, civil rights, mental health, women’s, children’s, and consumer advocacy organizations.”

Note that you can also do your own research on Sonia Sotomayor with the databases Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe and Campus Research (Westlaw). Both of these are available in the library’s homepage on the databases page here. These two databases are susbcription-based resources, and you do have to be affliliated with the university to use them.

If you need assistance for using the databases, or with any other research needs, you can visit our reference desk. You can also contact us via the  phone (903-566-7343), via email (library AT uttyler DOT edu), or use the UT System Ask a Librarian.

Update note: (7/21/09): Here is another resource I found on Judge Sotomayor. Via OpenCRS, a Congressional Research Service report on “Judge Sonia Sotomayor: Analysis of Selected Opinions.” The CRS is the investigative arm of Congress. Basically, they put together background research on any topic for Congress members so they can be prepared to make legislation.  From the abstract, “this report provides an analysis of selected opinions authored by Judge Sotomayor during her tenure as a judge on the Second Circuit. Discussions of the selected opinions are grouped according to various topics of legal significance.” The link will take you to the abstract, and from there, you can download the report as PDF file.

If you wish to learn more about the Congressional Research Service, its reports, or how to locate them, feel free to ask us.

Some information sources on the H1N1 Flu

The Influenza A H1N1, commonly known as “the swine flu,” has been all over the news in recent weeks. We would like to take a moment to give our readers some links to good sources of information so they can have some facts separated from the hype.

• MedlinePlus is always a good place to start online when looking for medical information. “MedlinePlus brings together authoritative information from NLM, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations” (from the site’s About page). The NLM is the National Library of Medicine. Personally, MedlinePlus is a site I recommend to anyone looking for medical information. You can get some medical journal articles, good overview entries on a variety of topics, and even drug and medicine information. MedlinePlus has a page dedicated to the H1N1 here.
• By the way, the National Library of Medicine’s Specialized Information Service has some information too on H1N1 here. This page has many links indicating the federal response as well as international response and information.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also has a page of information on the H1N1 here. The FDA’s page includes warnings against fraudulent treatments. It is very easy for the less than scrupulous to take advantage, so be informed.
• The Centers For Disease Control (CDC) have some information on H1N1 here. They include a map where cases in the U.S. have been found and other resources updated regularly. There are also instructions on how to protect yourself and other precautions here.
• In addition, you can get some free access to H1N1 information from Dynamed, an EBSCO database product. They are providing free access to a summary of information here. More about Dynamed: “DynaMed is a point-of-care reference resource designed to provide clinicians with the best available evidence to support clinical decision-making. DynaMed is part of the suite of medical products owned and provided by EBSCO Publishing and is updated daily by monitoring medical literature sources.”
• In terms of international coverage, the source to go is the World Health Organization (WHO). You can find their page on the H1N1 here. A little more about the WHO: “WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.”
• Locally, the Texas Department of State and Health Services has a page on the H1N1.  They have a very easy to read section on what to do if you do get sick and are staying home. It is called “How to stay home safely.”

Many of these sites feature options for RSS feeds as well as tracking via online tools like Twitter. Just look for the appropriate links on the sites. If you already use a feed reader like Google Reader or Bloglines, you can add updated information to your accounts from these agencies. If you would like to learn more about RSS, you can find a nice introduction here (from the How Stuff Works website). Also, many of the sites provide the information in English and in Spanish.

You can also stop by the library, call us, or e-mail with your questions. However, do remember that your friendly librarian cannot take the place of your professional medical practitioner. We can provide information, but we do not diagnose or dispense medical advice.  If you are feeling symptoms, do take necessary steps including a visit to your physician or local clinic.

Reference Book of the Week: The CIA World Factbook

Cover CIA World Factbook 2007

Welcome to another edition of the Reference Book of the Week. Today we are featuring a source straight from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; link to official agency page). The CIA publishes annually The World Factbook. This is a great resource for country information; the book is a collection of country profiles. Do note that the concept of “country” is not just independent nations. Places like Puerto Rico (a U.S. territory) and the Isle of Man (a British dependency) have entries in the Factbook as well, so you can find information about a lot of places here.The CIA draws on various government agencies as well as public and private sources for the information in the book. The book has been published annually since 1981 with categories in the entries revised over time.

With each entry, you get a set of categories: background, geography, government, economy, communications, military, transportation, and transnational issues (this would answer, for instance, if a particular country has an international dispute). The volume also features a set of helpful appendices in the back of the book and a set of color maps.

So, what sort of questions can you answer with this book? For example,

• Can you tell me how many airports does Benin have? Yes. It has five (as of 2006). Out of those five, only one is paved.
• Can I get an economic overview of Israel? Yes, starting on page 288.
• What is the capital of Mongolia? Ulaanbaatan is the capital of Mongolia (see page 388).

Now, a reader might wonder why would you want to know how many airports a country has? Or how many phone lines? Well, let’s say you are doing research for a company, and that company wants to set up shop in some other nation. Maybe the nature of your business requires you to be able to move your goods from that country back into the U.S. Therefore, you need to be aware of what are you transportation options. Will you fly your goods? Move them by ship? If you want to use ships, does the country have ports? That is just one example of why you might want to use this book. Overall, when it comes to finding a good overview of any country in the world, The World Factbook is an excellent resource.

The World Factbook is available in the library’s Ready Reference Collection (that’s the shelf right behind the reference desk). The call number is G 122 .U56a 2007. The library currently has the 2007 edition.

The CIA also puts The World Factbook online (link is to the online edition). The information is the same as in the book; however, the online edition is updated faster than the print. The latest online edition is the 2008 edition. The online version provides a quick pull-down menu where you can select the country and then get to the information for that country. The website also provides options for downloading the book. Do note that the downloads are big files.

Bill of Rights Traveling Exhibit on Display

The Robert R. Muntz Library is hosting “The Bill of Rights.” This exhibit is a dramatic photographic exhibit depicting people and events that sparked the Bill of Rights and related amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

The exhibit features photographs, illustrations, and visual highlights of events bearing directly on our constitutional freedoms. Concise texts explain some of the controversies surrounding the passage of these amendments, bringing vividly to mind similar issues that confront us today. It is also a good opportunity to reflect on our rights as we get ready to vote in the general election.

The exhibit, originally developed by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, is provided by Humanities Texas. It is made possible locally by the generosity of the U.T. Tyler Friends of the Arts organization. The exhibit will be on display in the library’s reading area from October 27 until November 26. It can be viewed during library regular hours. Viewing is free and open to the public.