New Map Database

The Terrebonne Parish Library now subscribes to a cool, new database.

A to Z Maps Online, a product of World Trade Press, is a huge database of maps from all around the world (all royalty-free), including weather maps, fishing maps (of our area), topographic maps and some historical maps and aerial photos of important cities. But there's even more than that.

A to Z Maps Online explains that it:

"...is the worlds largest subscription-based database of proprietary, royalty-free world, continent, country, and state maps. Included in the 4,000+ maps are: political maps, physical maps, outline maps, population maps, precipitation maps, climate maps, and other thematic maps. New maps are added to the collection every month."

To use this FREE service, just click on the above link (a link on the library's website should be up soon), and enter your library card number in the box on the upper right. Then, pick what kind of map you want to look at in the menu on the left. OR, just click on on one of the maps to the right! It's fun just to browse and see what's in there!

If you have any questions, e-mail the reference department and let us know.

Terrebonne Parish Recycling

After years of waiting, residents of Terrebonne Parish can finally recycle their trash.

Last Friday's Houma Courier featured an article by Naomi King letting local residents know where the community recycling bins can be found, and what we can toss into them.

According to Ms. King's article:

"The [recycling] bins are at these locations:

>Bayou Cane Fire Department, 6166 W. Main St. (Map)

>South Houma Memorial Fire Station, 1430 St. Charles St. (Map) --NOTE: THIS BIN HAS BEEN MOVED TO THE PARKING LOT OF RITE-AID AT 1238 ST. CHARLES STREET.

>East Houma Fire Station, 2101 E. Tunnel Blvd. (Map)

"To recycle, do not separate or bag your materials. Just throw them in the windows on each side of the containers. Only plastics with the numbers 1-7 can be recycled. You can find that number inside the recycling triangle symbol on any plastic. Do not put aerosol cans, wood, plastic bags, batteries or electronics into the green bins."

It's about time, huh?


ADDED 11/12/2009:

NEW BINS:

>Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center, 346 Civic Center Blvd, located in parking lot on corner of Civic Center Boulevard and Chactaw. Map

>Little Caillou Fire Station, 5610 Highway 56. Map

>The Fire House on Legion Avenue, next to the American Legion, 602 Legion Avenue. Map

Storm Ready Day 2009

Saturday, July 25 is the Terrebonne Parish Library System's first hurricane preparedness day. Storm Ready! , as the program is called, will be going on from 9am to 6pm and will feature public information sessions on such concerns as evacuating with small children, creating a "Grab and Go" box, taking care of pets during evacuation and what kind of plan Terrebonne Parish's Office of Emergency Preparedness has ready to go.

In an effort to prepare the community for hurricanes and other emergencies, the library will provide document scanning stations for the public to scan important documents. The library will allow the public to scan birth certificates, marriage licenses, deeds, wills, and insurance information. CDs ($0.25) and jump drives ($10) will be available for purchase that day, but the public is encouraged to provide their own jump drive or CD to save the scanned items.

Schedule of the Day's Events:

9:30am & 2pm - Terrebonne Parish Emergency Plan with Earl Eues followed by question and answer period.

10:30am - Tree Safety with Barton Joffrion of LSU Ag Center.

11am & 1pm - Evacuating With Animals--Cathy Richard and Martha Neil Anthony.

10:30am and 2pm - Lillie Brunet and TRAC--Hurricane Story Time for Children. (During this story hour, parents are invited into the next room to learn tips from LaChip and LSU Ag on keeping their children healthy, calm and safe during storms, disasters, and evacuations.)

3pm - Preparing "Grab and Go Boxes"--Margaret Berlew of the LSU Ag Center.

4pm - "Food Preparation and Safety"--Margaret Berlew of the LSU Ag Center.

The Giant Leap

Forty years ago today, Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the lunar surface, fulfilling President John Kennedy's inaugural promise that, before the 1960s were over, we would accomplish that very task.

The images and words have been replayed so many times in the ensuring four decades that we earthbound masses can easily forget what an enormous accomplishment this was, especially considering that, at the time, NASA had no computers more powerful than a Commodore 64.

To commemorate the Apollo 11 mission and the feats of its crew, we present the following list of links:

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Apollo 11 40th Anniversary Page

The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's Apollo 11 Page

We Choose the Moon

The History Channel: Moon Landing

Video: The Small Step


Discovery Channel: When We Left Earth

The Nixon Library's Moon Landing Page

Visions of the Universe

Through September 4th, the Terrebonne Parish Main Library is a host site for "Visions of the Universe: Four Centuries of Discovery," a travelling exhibit sponsored by the American Library Associaton, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Space Telescope Science Institute.

The exhibit features large, clear color images of various galaxies, nebulae, planets and other heavenly bodies as well as interesting, informative text about the history of astronomy and telescopes.

The exhibit (and a table full of space-related reading material) is located on the second floor, behind the information desk. You should come upstairs and take a look, when you get the chance.