Register now to vote in the Texas primaries

If you want to vote in the March 4 Texas presidential primaries, and you're not already registered, you'd better get busy! You must be registered 30 days before an election, and our primary is on March 4. That makes this Monday the deadline for registration. Get a voter registration form from the Texas Secretary of State's website. Then, if you're a Bexar County resident, follow the directions on their elections website. If you want to register in another Texas county, follow these directions on the Texas Secretary of State website.

Have another state as your residence? You can find out how to register there and what the dates are for your primaries at this website.

Once you're registered, you want to be sure you can cast an informed vote. You can get good information on the candidates at Project Vote-Smart. The University of Michigan also has a comprehensive collection of links related to the elections and the candidates. The local League of Women Voters has good, non-partisan information on local candidates and issues.

More information about registering, voting, and being an informed local citizen, can be found on this Local Government and Politics page.

With both the Democratic and Republican presidential fields still relatively wide-open, Texas' primary might actually be important this year! Make your voice count, and vote.

Undergraduate Research Award 2008

Are you entering a project in the Undergraduate Research Symposium?

Consider applying for the
Second Annual Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award

First Prize: $200
Second Prize: $100

The Award recognizes student researchers who demonstrate skill and originality in the application of library and other information sources in a research project.

You must enter the Undergraduate Research Symposium (deadline Friday, March 7, 2008) to be eligible for this Award.

Research Award application deadline: Monday, March 17, 2008

Photo of 2007 Louis J. Blume Library Undergraduate Research Award winning project posters.

National Intelligence Report on Iran

The unclassified part of the National Intelligence estimate that has been in the news lately, dealing with Iran's nuclear weapons intentions and capabilities, can be found here. It is a nine-page summary of the reports conclusions. (If you have trouble with this link, try the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's home page. The full title of the report is "National Intelligence Estimate Key Judgments.")

Other important intelligence and assessment reports on Iraq were discussed in previous In Blume posts: see them below.

Celebrate American Indian Heritage Month at the Blume Library!

Join us in celebrating American Indian Heritage Month this November. The Blume Library, in partnership with the St. Mary’s University Native American Student Association, is displaying Native North American artifacts this month. The display includes decorative, ceremonial, and other items from several Native American tribes. I encourage you to visit the library during November to see these fascinating artifacts!



The display also includes books of history, anthropology, and current events relating to the indigenous peoples of North and South America. When you visit the library, think about checking out one of these titles. You can also read online over 500 books on Native North Americans and many books on indigenous peoples of South American and Central America via the library's netLibrary database.

Finally, for a unique experience with Native American culture, check out the upcoming powwow sponsored by the StMU Native American Student Association. The powwow will be held this Saturday, November 17th from 10am-4pm in the Pecan Grove. Check out the St. Mary’s online calendar for more information.

Happy Halloween!

Think about this while you're carving your Halloween jack-o-lantern: the U.S. produced 1 billion (that's with a "b") pounds of pumpkins in 2006. And that's just the total of the major pumpkin-producing states. Which, in case you're curious, are Illinois (#1), California, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The value of all this yummy, scary, orange stuff? $101 million, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

And speaking of Halloween, don't forget about Boo Bash, on Tuesday, October 30, 2007 , starting at 5:30 pm. The Blume Library is happy to be one of the trick-or-treating stops for the Boo Bash kids.

Learning about Darfur

This fall, St. Mary's students, faculty, and staff have been exploring the issues surrounding the crisis in Darfur, Sudan.

In September 2007, Caesar Ricci and Victoria Smith from the San Antonio Interfaith Darfur Coalition presented their experiences working in the Darfur refugee camps in Chad. They discussed the causes of the Darfur crisis, talked about the refugees’ ongoing health and social problems, and encourage listeners to take action to stop the genocide. The Blume Library hosted an exhibit of Ricci and Smith’s photographs which they took during their visits to the camps.

Next week, the Fall 2007 President’s Peace Commission program will focus on the crisis in Darfur. The PPC program, “Genocide in Darfur: Responding to Their Cries”, will be held from Monday, Oct. 22nd to Thursday, Oct. 25th in the University Center. Speakers from campus and beyond will continue the dialogue about the situation in Darfur and talk about what we can do to help.

But, what if you want more information about the situation in Darfur? The library’s research collection is the place to look. You can find hundreds of articles on Darfur by searching Academic Search Complete. You can also find online government documents and e-books on Darfur in the library’s online catalog. If you need more information, get in touch with a librarian.

To change a problem you must understand the problem. Use the library's research collections to become knowledgeable about the Darfur crisis. And, of course, take advantage of the upcoming PPC program to discuss your questions and thoughts about Darfur.

(image from the International Emergency and Refugee Health Branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; linked at http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ierh/images/Darfur_sm.jpg)

Entertaining new government blog

I know, using the words "entertaining" and "government" in the same sentence may make you doubt my sanity. But this new blog from the folks at USA.gov really is fun to read. Plus you can learn about some useful and interesting websites that YOUR tax dollars are already paying for.

For example, September 27's post tells you where to find all kinds of (usually) copyright-free images on government websites. Other recent posts deal with saving energy, saving money, eating right, and preserving classic sound recordings.

Governments always get a lot of bad press, but here they seem to have done something right!