Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Summer Reading Lists

I\’ve been trying to come up with a Top Ten Reading list for the summer…and I can\’t seem to find just one. So I decided to share 10 READING LISTS. Hopefully one of these will suit you.

There are LOTS of reading lists out there! I hope those listed above will give you some good ideas for a great summer read! Remember if the Dick Smith Library does not own a title you would like to read, we can inter-library loan it for you. Most ILL\’s only take about a week…and its FREE! More Information about our ILL Service is available @ http://www.tarleton.edu/~library/ill.html

Happy 4th of July!!

The library would like to wish everyone a fun and safe July 4th holiday weekend!
Here are some interesting facts about the 4th of July from the U.S. Census Bureau:

2.5 million — In July 1776, the estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation.Source: Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970 <http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/statab.html>

304 million — The nation’s population on this July Fourth.Source: Population clock <http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html>

More than 1 in 4 — The chance that the hot dogs and pork sausages consumed on the Fourth of July originated in Iowa. The Hawkeye State was home to 17.6 million market hogs and pigs on March 1, 2008. This represents more than one-fourth of the nation’s total. North Carolina (9 million) and Minnesota (6.7 million) were the runners-up.Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service <http://www.nass.usda.gov>

6.8 billion pounds — Total production of cattle and calves in Texas in 2007. Chances are good that the beef hot dogs, steaks and burgers on your backyard grill came from the Lone Star State, which accounted for about one-sixth of the nation’s total production. And if the beef did not come from Texas, it very well may have come from Nebraska (4.7 billion pounds) or Kansas (4.1 billion pounds).Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service <http://www.nass.usda.gov>

$107.2 billion — Dollar value of trade last year between the United States and the United Kingdom, making the British, our adversary in 1776, our sixth-leading trading partner today.Sources: Foreign Trade Statistics <http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/highlights/top/top0712.html> <http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/>

Tarleton Thursdays: Did You Know?

Friends of the Library Book Sale


Mark your calendars! The Friends of the Dick Smith Library will hold their annual summer book sale Wednesday July 8, 2009 from 7:30 to 6 in the foyer of the Tarleton Center. The Friends have lots of items that have not been in previous sales, plus some that have.

The Friends began having book sales in 1992 and they are one of the major fundraisers for the group. The money is used to purchase items for the library that are not covered in the regular budget. Some of the items that have been purchased by the Friends include display cases, map case, artwork, furnishings for the Local History room, popular magazine subscriptions, mouse pads, flip video cameras, and many others.

Items included in the book sale largely come from donations. The library is not able to keep all donations….many are duplicates, some are outdated, and some are not appropriate for the collection. The gift items that are not added are given to the Friends for their book sale. We also give the Friends items that we withdraw from the collection because they are outdated or are duplicate copies.

We have come a long way! In 1902 the Stephenville Twentieth Century Club organized a book reception to benefit the John Tarleton Library. It was well received and more than 250 books were collected. \”The bulletin for 1902-03 stated that the library held 1500 volumes of choice literature.\” Today we have over 280,000 items! (King, The Dick Smith Library: Into the Second Century, p.4)

The Friends of the Library annual book sale is well attended and popular with the Tarleton community as well as the Stephenville community. So come on over to the Tarleton Center Wednesday July 8 and find some bargains!

Trust not the Stars

Curses and muttered execrations! Have you found those lovely lines of stars rating movies/products/travel destinations/ restaurants, etc., etc., useful? Yes? ME, TOO!! I have relied on ratings and customer reviews to help me make purchasing decisions, but alas, no more. My gullible self recently got a reality check when I read The Perils of Five-Star Reviews from BBC News regarding \’shill reviews\’.

Shill reviews are reviews that are not legitimately from customers, but self-serving reviews either paid for or written by those who have something to gain. Now one has to read even customer reviews with a critical eye. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is not a legitimate review. Read the article and learn how to be a more-informed consumer.

Lucky for you, the information you get at your library has been vetted, and found worthy. Start there first.

Top Ten Tuesday – 10 most visited National Parks

I need a vacation! (…don\’t we all?) I\’ve always had a dream to visit all the National Parks in the U.S. I was doing some research and found a great Top Ten list! Here is data from the National Park Service. These were the 10 most visited National Parks in 2008.

  • Great Smoky Mountains NP – 20,257,688
  • Grand Canyon NP – 4,557,358
  • Yellowstone NP – 3,979,371
  • Olympic NP – 3,835,757
  • Grand Teton NP – 3,829,002
  • Yosemite NP – 3,618,395
  • Hot Springs NP – 3,408,731
  • Hawaii Volcanoes NP – 3,129,404
  • Rocky Mountain NP – 2,914,252
  • Saguaro NP – 2,787,595

I\’ve been to 7 of them! We are so lucky to have such great public lands here in the U.S. Take a minute to think of not just the National Parks, but the National Seashores, Monuments, Historical Sites, etc that we can visit! Post a comment and tell us which National Park Service locations you have visited!

Understand your fellow Americans

Want to know about Americans? The Pew Research Center\’s Social & Demographic Trends project studies behaviors and attitudes of Americans in key realms of their lives, including family, community, health, finance, work and leisure. The project explores these topics by combining original public opinion survey research with social, economic and demographic data analysis.

It is one of seven projects that make up the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan \”fact tank\” that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It does not take positions on policy issues.
Visit Pew Social and Demographic Trendsto learn a lot about Americans!

Search Engines Worth Checking Out

\”Google is the most powerful search engine available, but when it comes to searching for something specific, Google may churn out general results.\” For more precise searching, a niche-specific search engine can be very useful.

To help us find these specialty search engines, the Hongkiat (Online Tips for Tech Users, Designers, Bloggers) blog has compiled and posted a list of 100+ Alternative Search Engines You Should Know About.

The search engines are grouped according to type, which makes choosing one that much easier. The categories include

  • E-Book & PDF Search Engines
  • Audio/Music Search Engines
  • Video Search Engines
  • RapidShare Search Engines

Happy searching!

Tarleton Thursdays: Did You Know?

Typical Texas Summertime Temperatures are Here!

Of course, air conditioning was not always available on the Tarleton campus. The photo above shows the \”new\” 1956 library\’s air conditioning unit – a \”new\” feature, when most buildings didn\’t have A/C! The library was one of the earliest buildings on campus to have air conditioning. Bender Hall, a men\’s dorm, went up in 1953, and even though it was advertised as the most modern in the state, it was not air conditioned, but had attic fans to provide some relief during hot weather. Ferguson Hall opened in the spring of 1959 and was also not air conditioned. A new health center went up in 1959 on the southeast corner of campus and was equipped with air conditioning. A new women\’s dorm was constructed in 1962, the first to have air conditioning. And, in 1964, the \”new\” student center (now the Tarleton Center) opened and became the \”hub\” of campus activities, housing the post office….recreation center….lounge area and snack bar….the Cave for dances and social gatherings….and it had air conditioning! (Guthrie, John Tarleton and His Legacy, p.116-117)
Just think about what it was like to be at Tarleton back then!

Top Ten Tuesday – 10 email tips

Its Tuesday again – time for a list! I\’m addicted to email. I hate being away from a computer for more than two day. PC magazine has produced a list – 25 golden rules of email. It is really a good list. I have picked my top 10 items for this post. I hope you find this useful.

  • Get a meaningful permanent address – you don\’t want \”hottiemom1980\” for life
  • Two different email accounts can be useful – one public and one personal
  • Be careful of the \”Reply All\” button
  • Subject lines matter – they put the reader and sender on the same page
  • Attach what you promised
  • Don\’t open attachments or click links you aren\’t expecting
  • Don\’t e-mail angry
  • Create a useful signature
  • Avoid confidential information
  • Beware of hoaxes and chain emails

The 25 golden rules of email is a great resource, you should really check out the link above. If you have email tips, please post a comment and share!

Phrase searching and Boolean operators

These search techniques can be used with search engines or library databases.

Phrase searching occurs when you put quotes around a search phrase: \”drunk driving\”. This will search the web (or database) for every instance of these two words in that order.

Boolean operators are the words AND, OR, NOT.

AND narrows searches…for example, \”small group\” AND decision-making will only find instances with these two results.

OR broadens searches….\”small group\” OR decision-making will find results with one or both of these results.

NOT...narrows searches by eliminating results…\”small group\” NOT decision-making.

Images taken from this Tarleton search tutorial.

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