Tarleton Thursdays: Did You Know?

Our Library Christmas Tree!

Have you seen our Christmas tree in the library foyer? It is made completely of books!....GREEN books! The presents are even books from the same series! All those books are the Library of Congress National Union Catalog! Familarily known as the "NUC", the books are a massive set of photocopies of printed catalog cards!

YES......the same cards that were in the old card catalog! Do any of you remember the CARD CATALOG? Well the Library of Congress NUC is where we obtained our catalog cards!

The Library of Congress began the NUC project in 1901. Our first set contained pre-1956 imprints of every important book in the United States, with regular updates for many years! The NUC was extremely valuable to libraries before the advent of electronic catalogs!

Many libraries have begun to use the green NUC's as a unique Christmas tree! We enjoyed "building" it and have enjoyed hearing all the comments about it from our patrons! Hope you had a chance to see it!

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

See You Next Year!

Holiday Treats from the Library

Once your holiday festivities are over, you may find yourself with time to spare and in need of some reading or listening material. In case that happens, check out these ideas from previous LOL posts:

1. Read the library's online books.


2. Try out some new recipes.


3. Expand your language skills with Mango.


4. Listen to selections from Contemporary World Music and Classical Music Library.


5. Enjoy Issue #1 of the Library Chronicles newsmagazine.


6. Read J-TAC articles 1919-2007.


7. Check out the library's mobile site.


8. Learn TSU history from Tarleton Thursdays LOL posts.

The library will close over the break (Dec. 23 - Jan. 2), but our online resources will be available when you want them. Happy Holidays!

New Year's Resolutions

Do you regularly make (and break) New Year's Resolutions?

If not, take heart. You're not alone.

Here are some tips to make it more likely you'll follow through this year.

1. Visualize the end result.
What is the positive outcome of each resolution?Find a motivating image or quote to keep you going.

"Money" by 401K on flickr.com, under a Creative Commons license.

2. Be specific.

Urgent news by rambergmedia on flickr.com under Creative Commons license.

For example, instead of "Lose weight", try "Lose 20 pounds by June 14, 2012."

3. Break it down.

Calendar module and iCal data by m.gifford on flickr.com under a Creative Commons license.

To track your progress on smaller milestones, try a goal-oriented social network like "43 things" to keep yourself accountable and seek advice from others. Or, you might download a reminder app, use an Outlook calendar, or carry a notepad and paper.

4. Keep reminders nearby.

"Think about it Thursday" by Rhonda Gibson on flickr.com under Creative Commons license.

Post your list in an unavoidable place. Moving the list frequently will prevent it from becoming part of the scenery.

5. Enlist support.

"Team Spirit" by jheffie on flickr.com under Creative Commons license.

Find a group of like-minded people (online or off) who are trying to accomplish the same goal. For example, here is a list of
popular money management blogs.

Tarleton Thursdays: Did You Know?

A Winter Scene in Stephenville!

Check out the big display case in the foyer featuring a winter scene of Stephenville’s past and present! The miniature buildings were handmade by Tarleton alum J. Louis Evans, Class of 1941! We displayed the buildings several times a few years ago, and have once again been given the opportunity to display them by J’s daughter Emily! A side note……..J wrote the now famous “Spirit of Tarleton” speech for Emily’s graduation!

Some of you may recognize a few of the buildings. The Berry Cottage, the John Tarleton Ranch House, and the dogtrot cabin are all located on the Stephenville Museum grounds. Also still standing is the American Legion Hall, the former Dinner Bell restaurant building, St. Luke’ s Episcopal Church, the Trogdon House, the Hunewell Bandstand (although the current one is a replica and is not located where the original was), the courthouse and buildings around the square, as well as the modern Town and Country Bank building on Lingleville Highway!

No longer standing are the old 3 story Stephenville High School building which was located where Hook Elementary now stands, the Woodshed snack shop which was across the street from the old high school, the depot, and the petrified wood Wolfe Nursery building which was located where Jack in the Box now stands! Shown above is Wolfe Nursery around 1940. It is a great view of the entire area which is now Walmart, Jack in the Box, Chili's, Staples, etc! Wow!! What a change!!

Come by and take a look at the great little snapshot of our town!

Good Luck on your Finals!

Recipes in unexpected places

Sometimes it's easy, even for me, to forget that our databases can be used for things other than classroom assignments and research papers. That's why I was so surprised when I stumbled across delicious-looking recipes while taking a closer look at some of our databases. I'm sure you're all gearing up for finals (try to get some sleep!), but you might want to take a look at these when you have a bit of time.

Alt HealthWatch - The best part about the recipes in this database is that you don't even have to know what you're looking for. Don't type anything at all in the search boxes. Instead, go to Document Type, located near the bottom right of the main search screen. Choose Recipe from the list. Then click the Search button. You'll see all the recipes available in Alt HealthWatch. I'd like to try making the Hearty Beef Stew ("Comfort Food Makeovers"), Velvet-Smooth Dark Chocolate Pudding ("Short-order Sweets"), Linguine Bolognese ("Perfectly Seasoned Suppers"), and Tortilla "Lasagna" ("'Make mine meatless!'").

Consumer Health Complete - If you're just interested in browsing, do a search for "recipes". I'd like to try making Pumpkin Soup ("Recipes: Soups and Starters"), Potato Pancakes ("Recipes: Snacks"), and Grandma's Tornado Cookies ("Follow the Footsteps").

Academic Search Complete - In one of the search boxes, type "recipes". Change the drop down menu next to the search box from "Select a Field (optional)" to "Subject Terms." There's overlap between what you'll find here and Alt HealthWatch and Consumer Health Complete, but I think there are also a few recipes I didn't spot in either of those databases.

It wouldn't surprise me if there are more recipes available in some of our databases that I don't even know about. So, have you used library databases for anything outside of coursework or research? Let us know!

Top 10 Test Taking Tips

It's that time of year again -- FINALS! It doesn't have to be the beginning of the end of you. It could be the perfect ending to a great semester! Click on the link and follow these tips to be more successful on your tests.

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/study-skills/teaching-methods/6390.html

Good luck on your finals!

Tarleton Thursdays: Did You Know?

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Where do you suppose the Tarleton students shopped in the horse and buggy days? The above photo shows Higginbotham's, a long time business on the square in Stephenville! It was located where the courthouse annex is today!

The Higginbotham's back then was a lot different than the Higginbotham lumber yard that we have today! The early Higginbotham stores took care of their patrons from birth to the grave! They had clothing, hardware, lumber, furniture, and even a funeral parlor. In fact, our Higginbotham's on the square had a funeral home at the back, which was in use until the late 1960's when the Stephenville Funeral Home on the South Loop was built!

The December 1, 1936 JTAC contained a small Higginbotham's ad! It stated that "At Higginbothams you will find J.T.A.C. students welcome"!.....and that they were "featuring Reg Shoes"! Wonder what "reg shoes" were! The December 15, 1936 JTAC Higginbotham ad stated that they were having a "Christmas Sale" and that J.T.A.C. students should come to Higginbotham's to do their Christmas shopping!

Well, I think that the Stephenville Higginbotham's of today has lots of merchandise that would be on a man's wish list, and also some for a woman's wish list, but it doesn't have nearly the assortment of goods that the Stephenville Higginbotham's of 75 years ago did!

Happy shopping!