"New" Complex Ocean Ecology!

The use of databases isn't just for quick information. Using the new Paleobiology Database [ http://www.pbdb.org ] scientists have discovered that during the "mass extinction" of earth 250 million years back, life in the oceans became dramatically more complex!

This "extinction" is said to have wiped out 95% of marine life and 70% of land dwellers. But, it seems to have also begun a fundamental change in the ocean ecosystem's entire structure.

You can find out more about the post-Permian extinction and it's results by using your Kansas Library Card [ http://www.kslc.org/ ] to access rich database resources. Select the InfoTrac databases and do a Subject search for (su ("Mass Extinction")). You will find many articles in full text!

If you prefer BOOKS to journals/magazines/newspapers, then use [ "mass extinction" earth ] in the Basic Search box of the NetLibrary e-Books database. You will retrieve many books relating to global extinction events and results. You may sort the titles retrieved by relevance, date, or title if you like.

Great results from your KANSAS LIBRARY CARD and your State Library!

Sherry

Word Definitions through World Book Encyclopedia

With all of the election verbiage and hype that has overwhelmed us this fall you might want to teach some words and definitions to those students you help regularly. Where did the word "aboveboard" come from and what does it mean? You can use the World Book's Dictionary to find out!

When you go to the State's Databases http://www.kslc.org/index.jsp and choose World Book (near the bottom of the list) you can see the Dictionary TAB near the top. Go there to find out just what the word means AND what its origin is. (Hint: Texas Hold'em plays a role.)

Wound Therapy Improvement -Scientific Breakthrough

How many of you have had family, friends, or patrons who have a need to know about wound therapy? In recent years doctors have been using (sterile) maggot therapy for those non-healing wounds - ICK! I does work to clean away dead tissue (debridement) and works well, especially for those "at risk" such as diabetes patients. But now British scientists have developed a new wound dressing that may just be able to do what those little maggots do! It is in the form of a "hydrogel" that could potentially be used to deliver the working product to the skin as a bandage - without the actual maggots. It has not been perfected, but this is something to look forward to!

You can find information on the recent surge of maggot therapy for treating wounds in both the InfoTrac databases and the ProQuest databases. Using the terms Wound Care and Maggots you will find information in reference sources, magazines, journals, and newspapers.

Negro League Legend Buck O'Neil

Buck O'Neil's life will be celebrated this Saturday (October 14th, 2006) at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City at 5:00 p.m. (The doors will open at 4 p.m.)
This great first baseman was full of good will and love of the game. Baseball in the early days was not easy for a black man to break into. But Buck O'Neil was able to do that AND even become a scout and a coach for the Chicago Cubs!
You can find information about Buck O'Neil using the Kansas Library Card databases! Search in the InfoTrac and FirstSearch databases using his name. You will find full-text articles from magazines and newspapers along with other sources.
Kansas and Missouri may have lost their "grandfather," but we can all celebrate his life.

Explore Mars!

Today there are pictures from NASA's Opportunity Mars rover that clearly show the enormous Victoria Crater on Mars for the first time. The rover uses something called a "pancam" to show panoramic views of Mars and with that information, the scientists will decide whether it is safe for the rover to descend into the huge crater.
Using the State Library's Kansas Library Card, click on the InfoTrac suite of databases. Try clicking the SUBJECT next to the Simple Search box and type in "opportunity mars rover". You will find full-text magazine articles, journal articles, and newspaper articles covering this most recent story along with some background stories that show that Victoria Crater was one of the main targets of this almost two-year mission!

You can also use the same search terms in the SIRS Discoverer database. This is wonderful for middle school and elementary school students and their teachers. Using the KEYWORD search box, type in "opportunity mars rover" and click Search. There are many full-text articles on this little rover and its journey to the crater rim!

Books!

With the Kansas Book Fest about to take place in Wichita, I wanted everyone to know that you (and your users!) can learn more about favorite authors and books in the Literature Resource Center database. The State Library's Kansas Library Card is the key to opening literary criticism and biographical information on authors, illustrators, etc. And it is FREE at http://www.kslc.org ! If you look up Rosemary Wells and her book Bunny Cakes or Gordon Parks and his book The Learning Tree, you will find articles, criticism, and author information galore. There is a Fort Scott connection in there too! Try the Kansas Library Card today.

Ks. Library Card WOW - 9/13/06

Kansas Library Card WOWs !
What in the "World of Wonders" can you find through your Kansas Library Card today? Ever wonder how smaller and smaller computers are going to keep cool in the future. We have heard about the recall of many notebook computer batteries because of overheating. But did you know that there are new and exciting designs for cooling these ever smaller devices? In the September 18th, 2006 Newsweek there is a short article about a University of Washington team experimenting with an ion pump that would cool by using electric charges! Wow. Find out more by using these search terms in either the Kansas Library Card's http://www.kslc.org/ FirstSearch WorldCat Dissertations & Theses or the InfoTrac databases: computer fans coolingEnjoy, Sherry

Steve Irwin - Crocodile Hunter

Steve Irwin was killed this weekend as he was working with a sting ray. He died the way he lived - All Out! To learn more about him have your users try their Kansas Library Cards. The SIRS database and the Custom Newspapers both have full text articles giving great background on his personality and his adventures. http://www.kslc.org

Cartoon of Pluto being Demoted

Pluto and Kansas

Posted to state librarian forums:
If you want to excite your library users try this: Use the State Library provided databases to connect users to Pluto's discoverer (Clyde Thombaugh) who is from Kansas (near Burdett)! Using the free Kansas Library Card, go to either SIRS or InfoTrac databases and enter Pluto and Kansas or try Tombaugh.
Information they can Use!