Holidays

The Terrebonne Parish Library System is closed for Christmas Eve, December 24th; Christmas Day, December 25th and the day after Christmas.

We wish you a peaceful, joyful and happy time of togetherness with your families and loved ones. Perhaps this year, maybe for just a little while, there will be peace on earth.

We will re-open Saturday, December 27th at 9am.

Happy Wright Brothers Day!

December 17th is Wright Brothers Day, the anniversary of the day Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful mechanical flight near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903.

Here are some links about flying and the history of flight for both students and adults...

NASA's history of flight is a kid-friendly student page with links and games.

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics History page has a linked timeline for users.

The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's website has a great education section for students and teachers.

The Chanute Air Museum has a cool explanation of how a heavy, boxy airplane gets up--and stays up.

JSTOR!

The Terrebonne Parish Library System is proud to now offer JSTOR access from within any of its branches. JSTOR, in case you don't know, stands for "Journal Storage," and is a database of scholarly academic journals. If you're a high-school or college student (or just an intellectually curious person) seeking to do research from refereed, university-level journals from some pretty prestigious content providers, come in to any branch and log on to JSTOR just by going to http://www.jstor.org.

In case you're curious, the content providers include Cambridge University Press, Wiley-Blackwell, The African Studies Association, The Johns Hopkins University Press, The MIT Press, The University of Chicago Press, and too many others to mention, really.

If you or someone you know is a student at Fletcher Technical Community College, be sure to spread the word.

Cleaning Up...and Moving On

After all these hurricanes and floods we've had in the last few years around here, some of us are getting pretty good at rebuilding fences, laying new roofs and floors and maybe even doing some finishing carpentry. But there are some guidelines we have to follow to make sure we don't end up with toxic mold behind our walls or creeping around in our air ducts. Here are some resources that, even if they might be too late for this hurricane season, might help us out next year...or the next:

This was our inspiration. We just today received Creating a Healthy Home, a publication of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. It was made possible by contributions from researchers from all over the country and is rich with information about cleaning up storm and water-damaged homes.

Flood Damaged Walls, Celings and Floors: Removing Moisture, Cleaning and Repairing--a publication of the Centers for Disease Control, also available as a PDF.

Repairing Your Flooded Home--Information from the American Red Cross.

Emergency Preparedness and Response--More good information from the CDC. Now there's a government agency that's earning its keep!

Flood Cleanup and the Air in Your Home--an easy-to-follow handbook put out by the EPA.

Flood Cleanup: Avoiding Indoor Air Quality Problems--a highly informative handbook by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Sending your work crew out to clean up the tool yard after the storm? Here are some tips from the Occupational Safety Hazard Administration (OSHA) that could keep them from getting hurt.

The National Flood Insurance Program gives you information about how to insure your home and belongings whether you live in a flood zone or not.

Save Gas With the Fuel Economy Guide!

The Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy jointly publish a yearly guide to fuel economy to let automobile consumers know which models guzzle and which models sip.

The guide is available online, and is a handy tool when you're in the market for a new or used car.

EPA Fuel Economy Guide 2009

Identity Theft Prevention and Awareness Month

Approximately 5 million people were victims of identity theft in the past year, according to FBI crime reports. That's more people than live in the entire state of Louisiana. Identity thieves are ruthless and shrewd and, worse, without conscience. December is National Identity Theft Prevention and Awareness Month, and thus a very good time to learn to protect yourself. Here are some links that might help you do that:

The Louisiana High Tech Crime Investigation Association has some great links to help keep you safe online.

The US Department of Justice Identity Theft and Identity Fraud page

The AARP's Guide to Preventing Identity Theft

The Federal Trade Commission's Identity Theft Reference Desk


The FBI's Guide to "Protecting Your Good Name From Identity Theft"

The FTC's guide to what to do if you have already been a victim of identity crime.

Another victim's guide, from the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

Acadian Diaspora Event

Get Your Library Science Degree...At The Library!

LSU School of Library and Information Science Information Session @ the Main Library

PRESS RELEASE

Did you know you can complete the Master’s of Library and Information Science degree from LSU without having to travel to Baton Rouge to take classes?

Dean Beth Paskoff of LSU SLIS will be in Houma to meet with prospective students on December 5, 2008 to discuss the admissions process, degree requirements, and schedule of distance education courses. She will also meet with alumni and current students to share their experiences with the distance education program at LSU. All interested are invited.

Prospective students should remember that it is still possible for qualified applicants to be admitted for the Spring 2009 semester.

Please share this information with regular library users who are thinking about a career change, school teachers, friends, and anyone else who might be interested in earning an MLIS degree.

Friday, December 5, 10:30 am -12:00 noon
Terrebonne Parish Public Library, 151 Library Drive
Distance Education Room (upstairs)

Call LSU’s School of Library and Information Science at 225-578-1480. Or, call the library at 876-5158.