LII: New This Week

New This Week for October 1, 2009

This Week
October and autumn events are the focus of this edition, including Halloween, the National Book Awards, National Crime Prevention Month, Child Health Day (Oct. 5), Teen Read Week (Oct. 18-24), fall foliage, and bird migration. Additional websites feature information on influenza and the flu season, statistics on health insurance, and teaching and learning resources on the U.S. National Parks.

Tip of the Week
This Fall, LII's newsletter will be published on the first Thursday of the month, and will focus on websites related to holidays and observances, seasonal topics, and current events. Look for the next edition on November 5.

In 2010, the Internet Public Library (IPL) will merge with the Librarians' Internet Index (LII) to create ipl²: Information You Can Trust.

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Arts and Humanities

The National Book Foundation
This organization's programs include National Book Month (held in October) and the National Book Awards (announced in mid-November). The site features lists of award winners from 1950 to present (some with links to essays and acceptance speeches), reading lists and trivia for National Book Month, special features, and information about the organization's other programs and publications.
URL: http://www.nationalbook.org/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/14747

Teaching with Historic Places
This site contains lesson plans that use "properties listed in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places to enliven history, social studies, geography, civics, and other subjects." Browse by location, theme, time period, or by U.S. National Standards for History (grades 5-12) and Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. Features contains thematically grouped lessons. Also included are guidelines for creating individualized lesson plans.
URL: http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/twhp/index.htm
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/12881

Teen Books & More
Collection of fiction and nonfiction book reviews by library staff and by teen contributors. Also features topical fiction and nonfiction reading lists covering such subjects as sports, music, crafts, faith, family relationships, gender issues, war, and travel. Includes links to resources for teens in areas such as money, careers, and volunteering. From the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
URL: http://www.carnegielibrary.org/teens/read/teenlists.html
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/14098

Health

Flu.gov
This page provides links to information about influenza from a variety of federal government offices. Topics include general questions and answers, vaccine availability, prevention, treatment, pandemic flu, and planning for businesses, communities, schools, transportation, and hospitals. The "About the Flu" section includes information about H1N1 (Swine Flu) and H5N1 (Bird Flu). From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
URL: http://www.flu.gov/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/12363

Injury Prevention
With sections for children and parents, this site provides safety tips for a wide range of sports activities. Also covers road rules, car and street safety, safety in the sun, fireworks, dogs, and other potential hazards. Features a "Home Safety Handbook" and treatments for common medical injuries, from burns to frostbite to poisoning. From Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
URL: http://www.chp.edu/CHP/besafe
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/392

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
The institute "conducts and supports research on topics related to the health of children, adults, families, and populations." The site features an alphabetical listing of health and human development topics, an overview of NICHD research, news, links to health education campaigns, information about research funding opportunities, publications, and related material. The NICHD is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
URL: http://www.nichd.nih.gov/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/24937

Home & Housing

Resources for Home Preserving Pumpkins
"Pumpkins offer far more than a door-stop at Halloween." This site provides ideas and safety tips for various methods of preserving pumpkin flesh and seeds, including canning, freezing, drying, and pickling. Features links to further information on the preparation of pumpkin butter, fruit leather, and canned winter squash. From the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
URL: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/tips/fall/pumpkins.html
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/12531

Law

National Criminal Justice Reference Service: Crime Prevention
Compilation of FAQs and other publications on theories and strategies for the prevention of a variety of types of crimes. Some of the topics include early intervention strategies for juveniles, crisis response plans for school settings, community policing, and specific theories of criminological behavior. Also includes event listings and related links. From the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, U.S. Department of Justice.
URL: http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Topics/Topic.aspx?Topicid=49
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/24598

People

MacArthur Fellows Program Overview
Commonly known as the "genius grants," this MacArthur Foundation program "awards unrestricted fellowships to talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction." Fellows have included "scientists, historians, poets and novelists, artists and composers, and people working in public service." Read biographies of current recipients of the grants, and browse lists of fellows back to 1981.
URL: http://www.macfound.org/programs/fel/fel_overview.htm
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/4170

Ready Reference & Quick Facts

U.S. Census Bureau: Health Insurance Data
Reports and statistics on U.S. health insurance coverage from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS) and other sources, covering various periods from the late 1980s on. Includes a FAQ, health insurance definitions, and related links.
URL: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/hlthins.html
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/12693

Recreation

National Park Service: Park Histories
A collection of dozens of long and detailed histories of the national parks of the United States, written by National Park Service (NPS) staff. Arranged by name of the park.
URL: http://www.nps.gov/history/history/park_histories/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/14752

Science

Bird Migration Facts
Fact sheet about avian migration, "the seasonal movement of birds, generally between breeding and non-breeding areas." Topics includes why birds migrate, how they prepare for migration, when and how far they migrate (and at what altitude), how fast birds fly, how birds navigate, and what we can learn from migration. From the Zoological Society of Milwaukee.
URL: http://www.zoosociety.org/Conservation/BWB-ASF/Library/BirdMigrationFa...
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/26771

The Chemistry of Autumn Colors
This site briefly describes the chemical process that occurs each fall when the leaves of plants in the Northern Hemisphere change from green "to brilliant shades of yellow, orange, and red." From a University of Wisconsin-Madison chemistry professor.
URL: http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/fallcolr/fallcolr.html
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/10952

Smithsonian National Zoological Park: Migratory Bird Center
Fact sheets, articles, and research from the center "dedicated to fostering greater understanding, appreciation, and protection of ... bird migration." "Bird of the Month" features essays on dozens of migratory birds. The site also includes material about the role of shade-grown coffee plantations in bird conservation, photos and videos, and activities for children and resources for teachers. Some pages available in Spanish.
URL: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/MigratoryBirds/
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/14533

Society & Social Science

Halloween: The Fantasy and Folklore of All Hallows
An essay about the historical origins of Halloween in the Samhain holiday, "the biggest and most significant holiday of the Celtic year." Also includes a brief bibliography. From the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.
URL: http://www.loc.gov/folklife/halloween.html
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/4631

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