Federal Government Blog

The 1910 Big Burn

Federal Government Librarian — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:08:32 +0000

The USDA Forest Service 1910 Fire Commemoration Information web site is designed to assist you in locating information on both the Fires of 1910 and the Commemoration events of 2010. Our Northwest Room has a new exhibit to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Big Burn, and this year’s “Spokane is Reading” selection is Timothy Egan’s book: The Big Burn. There will be two free presentations by Mr. Egan on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2010.

Trusted Traveler Cards Speed Border Crossings

Federal Government Librarian — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:42:29 +0000

Trusted Traveler cards employ multiple layers of technology and a smooth web-driven application and secure adjudication process - that preserves security at our borders while processing honest citizens through border crossings in seconds … instead of hours. The saved time and money is huge. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Department of Homeland Security are owed much of the credit for this new and highly successful program. Anyone can apply for a Trusted Traveler card.

Perseid meteor shower Thursday night

Federal Government Librarian — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 23:39:57 +0000

This year’s Perseid meteor shower will peak on the night of Aug. 12-13 between midnight and dawn. A beautiful alignment of planets is the second best thing that’s going to happen. Thursday, August 12th, the show begins at sundown when Venus, Saturn, Mars and the crescent Moon pop out of the western twilight in tight conjunction. All four heavenly objects will fit within a circle about 10 degrees in diameter, beaming together through the dusky colors of sunset. No telescope is required to enjoy this naked-eye event: sky map. The planets will hang together in the western sky until 10 pm or so. When they leave, the Perseid meteor shower begins. From 10 pm until dawn, meteors will flit across the starry sky in a display that’s even more exciting than a planetary get-together.

Hope for America

Federal Government Librarian — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 21:17:38 +0000

Hope for America: Performers, Politics and Pop Culture: Library of Congress Ongoing exhibition, opened June 11, 2010. Hope for America draws from the personal papers, joke files, films, radio and television broadcasts, and other materials donated to the Library of Congress by Bob Hope and his family.

SunWise

Federal Government Librarian — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:58:49 +0000

The SunWise Program is an environmental and health education program that aims to teach children and their caregivers how to protect themselves from overexposure to the sun. According to the most recent data (2004) from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER), Washington State has the fifth-highest melanoma incidence rate and the seventh-highest melanoma fatality rate in the country. Additionally, incidence rates in counties bordering Puget Sound and those located in the state’s extreme eastern area are among the highest in Washington. In fact, melanoma occurs as often, if not more often, in the cloudy and rainy parts of the state as in the traditionally sunnier regions.

New name for the Minerals Management Service

Federal Government Librarian — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 21:19:23 +0000

The Minerals Management Service has been renamed in Secretarial Order 3302, issued June 18, 2010, by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, to be the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement - BOEMRE. The name change is effective immediately. The New BOEMRE Web Site is Under Construction. This bureau is within the United States Department of the Interior. See their page about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill: Deepwater Horizon Response.

Citizenship, employment, genealogy, and adoption

Federal Government Librarian — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 00:22:34 +0000

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is the federal agency that oversees lawful immigration to the United States. They also manage the process that allows individuals from other countries to work in the United States and manage the E-Verify system that allows employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their employees. The USCIS Genealogy Program provides family historians and other researchers with access to historical immigration and naturalization records. The USCIS is the first step in the process for U.S. citizens to adopt children from other countries. You can use any library Catalog Computer to access any .gov or .mil website in all Spokane City Libraries. You do not need a library card or computer reservation for access to government websites.

Fathers Day Centennial

Federal Government Librarian — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 21:34:32 +0000

Father’s Day websites from USA.gov. The idea of Father’s Day was conceived a century ago by Sonora Dodd of Spokane and on June 19, 1910, the first Father’s Day was proclaimed by Spokane’s mayor. The first presidential proclamation honoring fathers was issued in 1966 by President Lyndon Johnson. Father’s Day has been celebrated annually since 1972 when President Richard Nixon signed the public law that made it permanent. Fatherhood.gov is from the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse (NRFC). Try the Census Bureau for Facts and Statistics about Fathers.

Spokane Public Library: a Depository for 100 years

Federal Government Librarian — Tue, 04 May 2010 23:49:40 +0000

In 1910, the Government Printing Office designated Spokane Public Library a Federal Depository Library, one of over 1,200 libraries nationwide to offer public access to information published by the federal government, sometimes in paper or microfiche format, and now often over the Internet. Try the links below on this page. You can use any .gov or .mil website on any Catalog Computer in all Spokane City Libraries; you do not need a library card or a computer reservation for access to government websites. See the federal documents displays in the Downtown Library’s Northwest Room display cases.

Archive.org Ebook and Texts Archive

Federal Government Librarian — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 19:42:02 +0000

The Archive.org Ebook and Texts Archive: Download free books and historical documents. The Internet Archive’s Text Archive contains a range of historical federal documents, fiction, popular books, children’s books, historical texts and academic books. These online versions often print easily and legibly, and can often be downloaded; sometimes this site offers a choice of online documents, such as: Read Online, PDF, B/W PDF, EPUB (beta), Kindle (beta), Daisy (beta), Full Text, DjVu, All Files: HTTP.