Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Amazon Launches New Daily eBook Promotion

The Kindle Daily deal works much like Amazon Free Daily Android App. One book is chosen each day. Amazon discounts heavily the ebook and promotes the title on the Kindle facebook page as well as on Twitter.

More HERE.

Call for Proposals: “The UGR Turned On Its Head?"

The Eleventh Annual Underground Railroad Public History Conference
Organized by Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, Inc.

April 13 - 15, 2012 at Russell Sage College, Troy, New York

New research on the Underground Railroad, slavery, abolition and the 19th
century period has the potential to turn what we know about the Underground Railroad on its head. Old assumptions such as "There is little documentation of the Underground Railroad", "The UGRR was a string of safe houses to Canada" and numerous other ideas are challenged by new research and Interpretations.
New discoveries and interpretations will be the basis for 2012 UGR Public
History Conference. We invite proposals that address reinterpretations, new research, teaching using new research and show how that research can be used in delivering new celebrations of the story historically and contemporarily, as well as proposals other proposals related to the Underground Railroad in the past and its relationship with us today.

Possible questions to be considered:
• What documented detail can be gathered regarding UGRR activists
and freedom seekers in specific counties and communities?
• What was the role of David Walker, Benjamin Lundy and others
before Garrison in creating the radical abolitionist movement?
• How did the War of 1812 lay a framework for later escapes by the
enslaved?
• How does the story of the newsly re-discovered slave rebellion of
1811 in Louisiana relate to the Northeast or other parts of the country?
• What are the increasingly detailed accounts of UGRR figures such
as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, David Riggles, Harriet Jacobs and how can they be interpreted for better understadning of this history?
• How can we preserve the voices of the past and relate them to us
today?

Proposals on related questions, not directly on this theme, are also
welcomed.

Proposals may be for a 60-minute panel session, workshop, cultural/artistic
activity, media production, poster, or other exhibit that addresses these
questions and this theme. When possible, activities should encourage audience interaction. Proposals should include: title, content description, type of presentation, names and contact information of presenters, target audience, and technology needs.

Proposals should be submitted by September 30, 2011
Via postal mail to URHPCR, PO Box 10851, Albany NY 12201 or via email to
urhpcr2011@gmail.com

For more information, visit www.ugrworkshop.com or call 518-432-4432

Friday, August 26, 2011

PREPARING YOUR INSTITUTION FOR HURRICANE IRENE


The Heritage Emergency National Task Force offers the following advice
to museums, libraries, archives, and historical societies for protecting
collections and records from wind and water damage.

BEFORE THE STORM

Here are some basic precautions to take if there is time and you can
undertake them safely. These are excerpted from the Emergency Response &
Salvage Wheel (© 1997, Heritage Preservation):

a.. Move vital records and high priority items away from windows and
below-ground storage into water-resistant areas. Avoid areas under
roofs.
b.. Screw plywood over windows or use tape to reduce shattering.
c.. Verify location and procedures for shutting off water, gas, and
electricity.
d.. Wrap shelves, cabinets, other storage units in heavy plastic
sealed with waterproof tape.
e.. Move outdoor objects indoors or secure in place.
f.. Take with you lists of staff, institutional and public officials,
insurance and financial data, inventory, emergency plan and supplies.
g.. Make preliminary contact with service providers for generators,
freezers, drying or freeze-drying services, and refrigerated trucking.
h.. Appoint a staff contact to give instructions on returning to
work.

PREPARE NOW!

We hope you are not in the path of this terrible storm. But in light of
Irene's potential for destruction, you should be asking:

a.. Have we established a telephone tree for staff contacts?
b.. Do we know the first responders in our community?
c.. Is our disaster plan up to date? Our insurance coverage? Our
inventory?
d.. Have we established priorities for salvaging our collections?
e.. Do we have contacts at salvage firms? Have we stocked emergency
supplies?
f.. Do we know what preservation resources are available in our
area?

Since 1995, the Heritage Emergency National Task Force has been working
to help cultural institutions safeguard their collections. Sponsored by
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Heritage
Preservation, Inc., the Task Force is a partnership of 34 national
organizations and federal agencies. For more hurricane resources,
please visit: www.heritageemergency.org.

George Rickey sculpture

The George Rickey sculpture installed at Academy Park by Albany City Hall will temporarily be removed in anticipation of high winds over the weekend. But don't fear - the sculpture will be back in a week for your viewing pleasure.

American Idol tour postponed

The American Idol Live! Tour 2011 originally scheduled for Sunday, August 28th has been rescheduled for precautionary reasons in anticipation of the weather resulting from Hurricane Irene. The new show date will be Sunday, September 4th at 7:00pm.

Friday, August 19, 2011

"Keeping America Informed" GPO's 150th Anniversary History Exhibit

Did you know that the Government Printing Office is celebrating 150
years?
Here is a press release [PDF] on an exhibit with a URL to a YouTube video showing the GPO employees viewing the exhibit.


Thursday, August 18, 2011

Half of Young Children in the U.S. are Read to at Least Once a Day

Many young children are getting a head start on acquiring the skills needed to read, as family members take time out of their day on a regular basis to read aloud with them, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. In 2009, half of children age 1 to 5 were read to seven or more times a week by a family member.

A series of tables, Selected Indicators of Child Well-Being (A Child's Day): 2009, uses statistics from the Survey of Income and Program Participation to provide a glimpse into how children younger than 18 spend their day, touching on subjects such as the degree of interaction with parents and extracurricular activities. These statistics are compared with those from earlier years.

While reading interactions are more frequent among families above poverty, reading interactions among low-income families have increased over the last 10 years. In 2009, 56 percent of 1- and 2-year-olds above poverty were read to seven or more times a week, compared with 45 percent below the poverty level. However, while parental reading involvement for children above poverty was not different from rates in 1998, it rose from 37 percent for those below poverty.

According to this latest look into the lives of children, more children are taking honors or advanced placement classes. From 1998 to 2009, the percentage of children ages 12 to 17 enrolled in gifted classes climbed from 21 percent to 27 percent.

Monday, August 15, 2011

SUNY Sustainability

The summer sustainability bulletin is now available. In this issue, learn about free home energy audits from NYSERDA, a local online farmer's market and how our bus fleet just got greener. Go HERE [PDF].

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Buffalo: "A stronger library will be able to enhance the region"

From the Buffalo News by Sharon A. Thomas, chair of the
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library System board of trustees:

"There's been a lot of talk lately about the future of our libraries, and
I want to update you on discussions taking place that will stabilize and
revitalize the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library Systems financial
footing. For 175 years, the library has encouraged lifelong learning
through free access to information a valued and valuable service that has
contributed to this communitys innovation and prosperity."

Read the rest HERE.

Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Undergroun​d Railroad kiosk

View the Underground Railroad kiosk that is on display at the Delaware Branch of the Albany Public Library. Text and images were provided by Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, Inc. Funding was provided by Underground Railroad Heritage Trail, a program of New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

What: UGR Kiosk
Where: Delaware Branch of the Albany Public Library
331 Delaware Avenue, Albany, NY 12209
When: until the end of August, 2011
Hours: Monday - 12noon - 8pm
Tuesday - 10am - 6pm
Wednesday - 12noon - 8pm
Thursday - 12noon - 6pm
Friday - 12noon - 6pm
Saturday - 1pm - 5pm

If you would like the kiosk displayed at your institution or business, please contact Paul Stewart through info@ugrworkshop.com to make arrangements.

Sunday, August 07, 2011

CDTA ANNOUNCES SERVICE CHANGES TO BEGIN ON AUGUST 28TH

The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) has announced, that the following service changes will go into effect over the next several weeks beginning on August 28, 2011.

Effective Sunday, August 28, 2011, the following service changes will go into effect.
•Routes 905 BusPlus, 355 Schenectady/Colonie and 1 Central Avenue, Route 5 services operating between downtown Albany and downtown Schenectady, will have more trips added in the morning and at night to enhance service reliability and improve connections.
•New schedules will be created for Park-N-Ride express services along Route 5 (Routes 530 Rotterdam Square Mall Express, 531 St. Luke’s Park and Ride Express, 532 Woodlawn Park and Ride Express) to provide better connections during peak commute hours.

Minor run time adjustments will be made to Route #280 (New schedule). The route will now operate every 50 minutes during mid day and evening hours to provide for better connections to trunk routes.

Effective Sunday, September 4, 2011, the 610 Shuttle will operate all trips as a fixed route only and will no longer perform deviations. All 610 Shuttle scheduled trips will serve all boarding/alighting on Old Wolf Rd, Metro Park Rd and Beltrone Living Center North Entrance. · Friday, August 26th will be the last day of service for Route #96 Rensselaer Rural.

Friday, September 2, 2011 will be the last day of service for Route #409 Clifton Park, Malta, Saratoga Springs shuttle.

For more info go here.

Saturday, August 06, 2011

The Marriage Equality Act

This document [PDF] explains that all marriages, whether of same-sex couples or different-sex couples, will be treated equally under all laws of the state. Accordingly, the Act applies to all taxes administered by the Tax Department as of the effective date of July 24, 2011.

Time for book publishers to fight dirty?

Yes, according to this opinion piece in the 8/4/2011 Chicago Tribune.

Monday, August 01, 2011

Screwy Decimal

Cam,e across the Screwy Decimal blog.
A recent post: Goin' to the Ref Desk and We're Gonna Get Married

"It's my guess that every unmarried woman over a certain age gets asked one or two million times in her adult life why she hasn't yet found a nice guy and settled down already. The subtext of this question is, of course, "What the hell is WRONG with you?" I've talked in previous posts about patrons being overly and inappropriately concerned with my marital status. Because I am happy with my life as it is right now, it doesn't bother me much anymore when people grill me at the reference desk on this topic. I don't get defensive, but I also don't engage (no pun intended) with the patron either. I give a humorously evasive response - "I'm saving myself for Robert Downey Jr.!" - and then I change the subject.
"What? IT COULD HAPPEN."

This was written by Rita Meade, a librarian from Brooklyn.