Hurricane: The Bright Side

"The danger is that if you say there's a beneficial effect, you come off sounding like a nut.” Sidney Maddock, Environmental Analyst for The Center of Biological Diversity

Today is the start of Hurricane season, but there's more to a storm of this kind than just damage.

Aquifer: We've all been hearing about it due to the state drought. Enough rain and it will be replenished, maybe this year. One hurricane storm could take care of the problem in a matter of days. Frank Marks, research Meteorologist for the hurricane research division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, explains: "A hurricane can dump 5 to 15 inches of fresh water on a place that desperately needs it, replenishing the aquifer. It also can clean out clogged-up and polluted bodies of water."It flushes out all the garbage."
Reefs: Hurricanes even help some things they're accused of hurting, such as the coral reefs in Florida's Biscayne Bay. "In Hurricane Andrew, people worried about reef damage," Marks said. "And the reefs were damaged. Pieces of the reefs were broken off. But they looked later and saw that the pieces of the reef that broke off were starting new reefs."
Cute guy in the picture:
The Piping Plover is a seashore bird. It makes its nest in sandy stretches of beach. If too much vegetation grows on the beach, the piping plover can't nest there. If they can't nest, they can't mate. And the piping plover already is classified as a "threatened" species. "A storm like this is so powerful," says Sidney Maddox, "that it will push massive amounts of sand and water across the island and you'll have large areas of open sand without vegetation, and those are the areas where next summer the shore birds will breed."
So as you purchase your supplies, pack your car, learn your routes and hope the house is there when you get back, try to look on the bright side. Maybe one or two eco-system problems were worked out while you were riding out the storm. ~Laurie

Pack, prepare, tune to news, and take an evacuation order seriously.

National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

Swine Flu: Swine-Origin Influenza A (H1N1)

Due to the recent global outbreak of Swine Influenza, EBSCO Publishing and the DynaMed Editors have made DynaMed’s information about Swine Influenza free to health care providers and institutions throughout the world. The DynaMed topic on Swine Influenza consolidates information from multiple sources for health care providers to stay current with recommendations for monitoring, diagnosing, and treating patients with flu-like illnesses during this outbreak. DynaMed Editors will continue to monitor information and update this topic as needed throughout this global crisis. Please click on the following link for information regarding Swine Influenza: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed/swineflu/.

Writing Center in the Library!

For this week and next (until May 1st), the writing center will station a staff member in the library conference room to provide additional “walk-in” writing assistance to students for the following hours.

Mon: 10:00 – 2:00
Tue: 1:00-5:00
Wed: 9:00-1:00
Thur: 1:30-4:30

The Writing Center in BACA 207 will remain open during our normal operating hours

Visitors on the Beach

April is already bringing warm summer temperatures, and beach season is upon us. But starting in May people won't be the only visitors on the beach, as that is the beginning of Florida's Loggerhead Turtle nesting season. Loggerhead Sea Turtles reportedly grow to a weight range anywhere from 250 to 400 lbs and live up to 30 years. Most of the time they go unnoticed in the ocean, but for several months out of the year they come ashore to lay eggs where they were born, then go back into the sea. It takes about two months for the hatchlings to surface and make a run for the sea, and this means we are playing on the beaches while the newborn Loggerhead is fighting for survival. Scientists estimate that only 1 in 1000 to 10,000 hatchlings will make it to adulthood. Granted, they meet with dangers at sea, but it’s our responsibility to avoid being a hazard for them on land. It’s estimated that up to 80% of the Loggerheads in the U.S. are in Florida, so as we go into beach season lets be conscious of their presence and observe the recommendations listed below. For more information drop by the BLRC or visit the links in blue. ~Laurie

*Keep outside lights off during turtle season from May through October.
*Report injured or sick turtles and those who endanger turtles or disturb the nests. (1-888-404-FWCC)
*Make sure to remove chairs, umbrellas and other gear from the beach each night.
*Level all sand castles and fill any holes dug during play.
*Please pick up all trash. Sea turtles mistakenly eat debris, especially plastic, which results in death.
*Never buy products made from sea turtles or any other endangered species.
BE AWARE ON THE BEACH!

Turtle Time: http://www.turtletime.org/
See Florida Online: http://www.seefloridaonline.com/turtles/
Fish and Wildlife Research Institute: http://research.myfwc.com/features/category_main.asp?id=1289

Tell us what to get!

What do you want to watch? Listen to? Read? We want to know!
We will be purchasing new DVDs, CDs, & paperback books for our recreational collections, and we want to know what suggestions you have. We will do our best to purchase all recommendations if they are available and appropriate for the collections. Feel free to submit your request(s) on our Online Form or in person at the library front desk.

Many thanks to the Brandon campus Student Government Association for funding our recreational collections!!!

Research Paper Problems? Ask a Librarian!

Click Here: Ask-a-Librarian

Or, Ask-a-Librarian Mobile

Native American History Month

In 1895 a Seattle photographer named Edward S. Curtis (shown above right), met and photographed Princess Angeline (aka Kickisomlo), the daughter of Chief Sealth of Seattle. This was to be his first portrait of a Native American. In 1906 Financier J.P. Morgan commissioned Curtis to produce a series on the North American Indian. It was to be in 20 volumes with 1,500 photographs. Curtis' goal was not just to photograph, but to document as much Native American traditional life as possible. He wrote in the introduction to his first volume in 1907: "The information that is to be gathered ... respecting the mode of life of one of the great races of mankind must be collected at once or the opportunity will be lost." Curtis made over 10,000 wax cylinder recordings of Indian language and music. He took over 40,000 photographic images from over 80 tribes. He recorded tribal lore and history, described traditional foods, housing, garments, recreation, ceremonies and funeral customs, while writing biographical sketches of tribal leaders. Critics of his work have claimed he manipulated his images to remove western influence, and did not show the poverty and loss of rights suffered by his subjects. Still, in most cases, Curtis’s writings and photos are the only record we have of Native American life. ~ Laurie

Read more about Edward S. Curtis and Native Americans:
Edward Sheriff Curtis: Visions of the First Americans by Don Gulbrandsen
Shadow Catcher: The Life and Work of Edward S. Curtis by Laurie Lawlor
Sacred Legacy: Edward S Curtis And The North American Indian by Joseph Horse Capture, N. Scott Momaday, Christopher Cardozo, and Edward S. Curtis

Tell us what to get!

What do you want to watch? Listen to? Read? We want to know!

We will be purchasing new DVDs, CDs, & paperback books for our recreational collections, and we want to know what suggestions you have. We will do our best to purchase all recommendations if they are available and appropriate for the collections. Feel free to leave your suggestion(s) as a comment to this post or in person at the library front desk.

Many thanks to the Brandon campus Student Government Association for funding our recreational collections!!!

Hispanic Culture Coast to Coast

In 1513 explorer Juan Ponce de León landed somewhere on the northeast coast of the present State of Florida. He claimed "La Florida" for Spain and then sailed south passing around the Florida Keys. By 1568, Spain had claimed a vast area of land along the western side of North America and to secure that claim they created a series of farms which were built within missions, leading to the creation of the twenty one missions along what is now Highway101 in California. From east to west the city of St Augustine and the California Mission Trail bear witness to Spain's nationwide influence on the history of America. Today, approximately 42.7 million Hispanic Americans make up the largest ethnic minority in the nation. In addition to a historical connection with Spain and Mexico, Hispanic Americans now come from all over South and Central America, Cuba and Puerto Rico, and with them come five centuries of enriching Hispanic culture for us to celebrate. The BLRC salutes Hispanic American Heritage and invites you to discover more about the California Mission Trail or the city of St. Augustine by visiting the links below or the BLRC for our selection of titles on Hispanic culture.~ Laurie

Pictured above: Carmel Mission, Carmel California

http://www.staugustinelinks.com/st-augustine-history.asp
http://www.nps.gov/archive/jeff/LewisClark2/Circa1804/WestwardExpansion/EarlyExplorers/CaliforniaMissions.htm

Free People, Read Freely

"To prohibit the reading of certain books is to declare the inhabitants to be either fools or slaves." -- Claude Adrien Helvetius

Many authors we now take for granted on our library shelves have often been denied to the reading public. A common practice in totalitarian societies, we don’t think book bans happen in America, but they do. The Grapes of Wrath, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Catcher in the Rye, Call of the Wild, Beloved, Don Quixote, and Fahrenheit 451 (a book about banning books) have all been burned, banned or withheld from readers in America and abroad. September 27th through October 4th is Banned Books Week, but here in the BLRC we’re observing for the entire month of September with books that someone didn’t want you to read. Use your library and exercise your right to read, and think, freely. Free People Read Freely ~ Laurie