Christmas Books

Are you looking for books relating to Christmas? 

We have several here in the library for all age groups; here's a few of the ones we own:

 A Bad Kitty Christmas by Nick Bruel
 PZ8.3 .B8253 BAD 2011        
 Curriculum Collection

   



A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens;            Illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger.
PZ7.D55 CEW 2000B                               Curriculum Collection

 





Scout, the Christmas dog
by Andrew Sansom
SF429.L3 S26 2006                             Curriculum Collection

 



American Christmas Cards, 1900-1960
by Kenneth L. Ames
NC1866 .C5 A44 2011
General Stacks

       





Christmas Poems 
selected by Myra Cohn Livingston.
PN6110.C5 C59 1984                           Curriculum Collection

Come take a look! We're open all this week from 8AM-5PM. 

Need helping locating any of these books? 

Ask a libary staff member at the Reference Desk or Circulation Desk for assistance. 

You may also 

call (254)968-9249 or 

email reference@tarleton.edu for assistance. 

*All images pulled from our Discovery@Tarleton service; these books may not have the same cover as the images shown above. 

We're Open

We love to help our patrons! Come in and see us today, tomorrow, the next day, and the next, and the next! That's right we will be open all week from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Need some reading materials for over the Christmas break, we have them! Need to use a computer to check emails, you can do that too! If you have any questions, give us a call at 254-968-9249 or send an email to reference@tarleton.edu.

Happy Holidays!!!

A Fun Christmas Quiz

Are you tired of taking hard finals?  

Would you like to have a little fun with a quiz? 

Here's a Christmas Song story quiz by John and Sandy Griffin which will let you test your knowledge.  In case you need some help here's a list of resources from our library catalog which could help you with this quiz:

• Sleigh Rides Jingle Bells & Silent Nights: A Cultural History of American Christmas Songs (ML 2881 .U6 L 36 2013) 
• Christmas Season [electronic resource]: Favourite Christmas Songs = Weihnachtsfreude: Beliebte Weihnachtslieder [XX(447557.1)]
• Songs for a Williamsburg Christmas [sound recording] by Williamsburg Madigral Singers (M1629.3 .C5)
• Songs of Christmas. [sound recording] M5100 .N6S6 1956

Sandy's Christmas Song story 

 

Select a song from the list below and fill in the blanks to complete the story.  If you want to make it really tough cover up the answer list at the bottom and do it from memory. Note that in some cases there are several answers that may fit in to any given blank. However, part of the puzzle is to make sure that you use every song title appropriately only one time.  

    One ______ ______ as we were tucked in our bed and dreaming of a________ _________  we heard a noise__ ___ ___ _____. My husband and I quickly got out of bed to see what was happening. We couldn't believe our eyes for there was _____ _____ _____ standing in our living room looking down at our young lad and saying ___ ____ ___ ____? Our son was talking to him and telling him __ ___ ___ ___ ____ __ __ ___ ____ ____. I turned to my husband and said ____ ____ ___ ___ _____ ___? 
      My husband said, "Well, ___ ______ __ __ __ ___ ___ ______ around here. At least it is not like last year when our son was telling everybody _ ___ ____ ___ ___ _____ I sure am glad you didn't make me wear that outfit again this year."   We told Santa "have a ___ _____ __________ and left him to his work. As we left we asked "Is there anything else you need?" He replied, "For the sake my sleigh ___ __ ___, ___ __ ____ , ____ ___ ___ We awoke on Christmas morning to find that someone had decorated our tree. We inquired, "___ ___ ____' ____ _____ ____ who decorated you? and now what does the rest of the house need? The tree boughed and then pined, "You could ____ ____ ____ ___ __ ___ ___ I miss her."  
       Soon the phone rang and it was our daughter telling us __ ____ ______ ____ ______ or else I'll have a _________ __________ without you. We were wondering how we would tell her the news that her ____ ___ ___ __ ___ ______. And no it wasn't ____ ____ __ ___ ___ who did it. At dusk carolers came into our yard, stood amongst the spruce and fir and sang ____ ____ ____ __ ______ among the leaves so green. So we passed out mugs of mulled cider and then sent them on their way. Another Christmas day was done and we sat with a cup of cider as we listened to the crackle of the ____ _____ __ __ ____ _____, raised our glasses to this toast to all of you. __ ___ ___ ___ ___ ________! 

------------- Cover this part below if you’d like a real challenge -------------

Not in correct order 1. Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree 2. Up on the Housetop 3. Blue Christmas 4. All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth 5. Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer 6. Jolly Old St. Nicholas 7. We Wish You a Merry Christmas  8. Holly Jolly Christmas 9. It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas 10 I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus 11. Let it Snow, Let it snow, Let it snow 12 . Silent Night 13. I'll Be Home for Christmas 14. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer 15. Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire 16. Here We Come A Wassailing 17. What Child is This? 18. White Christmas 19. Do you Hear What I Hear? 20. Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly.   

 

See answers below:

 .

  .

    .

      .

        .

          .

            .

               .

                  .

                     .

                       .

Correct order of answers,12,18,2,6,17,4,19,9,10,8,11,1,20,13,3,14,5,16,15,7

 

The Most Famous Author From Each State

The end of the semester is almost here! Hopefully some of you will find time to do some reading that is not required for a class.

Do you have a favorite author?  I found this blog post about famous authors and from which states they hail.  Take a look and then comment and let us know if you agree with the writer assigned to your state!

The Most Famous Author From Each State

Mindfulness

Do you ever feel as though you have so much on your mind that you can't possibly relax?
You're not alone.
You may find the practice of mindfulness helpful.

Mindfulness
Mindfulness is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary* as "a state of intense concentration on one's own thought processes; self-awareness." 

creative commons licensed (BY-NC-SA) flickr photo by Mrs Janet R:
http://flickr.com/photos/neon194/5242350317

Instead of worrying about the future or regretting the past, you are focused on the present moment.
How does one achieve this enviable state?

Start with our resources
If you search our catalog using meditation OR stress management as a subject, you will find over a hundred resources, including print books, e-books, and streaming video.

Click on image for a close up.

Need help?
Give us a call at (254) 968-9249 during library hours.

Edited to add: If you need a quick audio boost, try these free guided meditations from UCLA.
If you have a few more minutes, search "Guided Meditations" on our Films on Demand database.

*This link is intended for Tarleton faculty, staff, and students with access to our online resources. If you are off-campus, you will have to log in using your UID and password.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Cornucopia of Thanks - made by Dick Smith Library staff

The Dick Smith Library will be closing at 5 PM on Wednesday, November 26, for the Thanksgiving holiday.  We will reopen at noon on Sunday, November 30.  Have a wonderful holiday and safe travels!

What are you thankful for?

It's that time of year again! Many people spend the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends. They share stories of the past year over turkey and dressing. Some even put up their Christmas trees and decorations, if they haven't already. Many will go shopping for early Black Friday deals. We want to know what you'll be doing this year on Thanksgiving and what you are thankful for.

www.prettyorganized.com/organizing/free-fall-printables-favorite-quote

We will be closed Thanksgiving Day and reopen on Sunday, November 30th at noon. Feel free to send us an email or leave a voice mail, if you have questions and we will respond at the earliest possible time.

254-968-9249 

reference@tarleton.edu

International Week Trivia

How much do you know about International Trivia?

Here's just a few questions to see how well you can do:

Q1. Where is Papiamentu spoken?

Q2. Which bird appears on the flag of American Somoa?

Q3. What does the word “Zimbabwe” mean?

Q4. Who is the confined Chinese artist who currently has an exhibit at Altcatraz?

Q5. In which country will women finally gain the right to vote in 2015?

Q6. While some countries use GNP as a measure of the status of a country, what does Bhutan measure?

How well did you do?

Scroll down to see answers.

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Answers:

1. On the islands of the Netherlands Antilles: Curacao, Bonaire, and Aruba.

2. Bald eagle

3. House of stone

4. Ai Weiwei

5. Saudi Arabia

6. GNH: Gross National Happiness

Accessible Emails Lessons @ Lunch November 18

Join us in the Library Multipurpose Room on November 18th at Noon

for Lessons @ Lunch Accessible Emails.

 

 

 

 

Learn what techniques other universities are adopting for making our message

accessible to all audiences, ways to keep your email accessible,

and what an inaccessible email is.

 

Presented by Karole Schroeder.

Sponsored by the Dick Smith Library.

International Games Day - November 14-15, 2014

We are celebrating International Games Day in the library today, November 14th and tomorrow the 15th. We will have board games and a Wii console set up in the multi-purpose room for anyone to come and enjoy. Games Day is being celebrated all over the world in libraries today and is a great opportunity to just relax and have some fun! We posted fliers all over campus and invited the Gamers Club on campus to attend the event. Here are some photos of what we had set up for the two days.

Do you know the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day?

Veterans Day is often confused with Memorial Day. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs:

Many people confuse Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Memorial Day is a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle. While those who died are also remembered, Veterans Day is the day set aside to thank and honor ALL those who served honorably in the military – in wartime or peacetime. In fact, Veterans Day is largely intended to thank LIVING veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served – not only those who died – have sacrificed and done their duty.

Do you know any veterans?  Thank them today!

National Novel Writing Month

It's not too late to write a novel by the end of the month.

No, really.

National Novel Writing Month was started in 1999 by Chris Baty.  It's often abbreviated to NaNoWriMo, which is pronounced Na-No-RHY-mo.  From the website:

"National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30."

Here are some print books at the (Stephenville campus) library to help you out.
You may also find some of these electronic books helpful (be sure to log on with your UID & password when prompted if you are off-campus).

Don't fancy yourself a novelist?  There are other creativity-fueled events inspired by NaNoWriMo that take place throughout the year.  You can find them at this link.

creative commons licensed (BY-ND) flickr photo by hjconti: http://flickr.com/photos/hjconti/5148810423

Laptop Lending Machine

In case you missed the big surprise unveiling yesterday, here's a look at something new the library has to offer: a Laptop Lending Machine!

Dr. Dottavio and SGA President Jay Johnson were the first two people to swipe their Texan Cards and try out the new laptop loan vending machine.

The process is simple, and you no longer have to wait in line at the Circulation Desk to check out a laptop.

All you need is your Texan Card and your NTNET password to check out a fully charged laptop for four hours. You will also receive a receipt in your Tarleton email inbox to show when the transaction was completed after you return the laptop.  

Come by the library and try it out for yourself!

Need assistance?

Stop by the Reference Desk located nearby or call (254)968-9249.

Halloween in the Library's Catalog

With Halloween in just a few days, I thought it would be interesting to see what I would find if I just searched "Halloween" in the library's catalog.  The result is 72 hits with various items such as cookbooks, videos, films, histories of hoaxes and other historical accounts of gruesome happenings, as well as children's books and math exercises using literature.  One particular hit is that of a musical offering: Sabla Tolo II by Hossam Ramz which includes a piece called, "Halloween".

This item is streaming sound file through which patrons may simply open up the record and listen to a song by clicking on the name of the piece. 

The song, "Halloween", is nothing like we would imagine a song entitled "Halloween" to sound like - no screeching cats, claps of thunder, or howling ghosts.
Give it try; click here to listen.

Have you tried Interlibrary Loan?

Interlibrary Loan is a service that we offer to current students, faculty, and staff at Tarleton. If there is a book article, video, or even music score that we don’t have, we can request it from other libraries across the nation. There are hundreds of libraries that will share their collections with us. You can search the World Cat database to see which libraries may own the item for which you are searching.

Useful Links:

InterlibraryLoan Login screen

World Cat

Discovery @Tarleton

Best practices for inputting a request:

1.  Look in World Cat for the Accession number (also known as the OCLC number).
2. Provide the ISBN/ISSN.
3. If you are requesting an article include the journal title, article title, volume number, issue number, and page numbers (most of this information can be found in Discovery, even if we don't own the article).
4. The more information you can give the better.

Things you need to know:

1. We can’t always get the item that you are wanting. Newer items or obscure items are very difficult to obtain.
2. On occasion there is a lending fee. This means that they will lend it, but only if you are willing to pay a fee. The majority of libraries will lend for free though.
3. If you wait to the last minute, you may not get the book or article that you need when you need it. Don’t wait until the last minute to make a request. Many things we can get pretty quickly, but if you are writing a research paper, and you need one more resource and your paper is due in 3 days, it’s probably not going to get here in time.

What does the library mean to you?

This year the library is going to participate in the Texas Library Association (TxLA) Snapshot Day.  It allows libraries and library users to showcase library activities.  It is a "snapshot" of a day in the life of our library.

On October 30 & 31, help showcase the new Library Learning Commons and show the importance of the library by telling us why you come to the library and giving us feedback.  Have your picture taken, too!

Find out about the annual event held by TxLA:  http://www.texaslibrarysnapshotday.org/

To view pictures from past Library Snapshot Days visit the TxLA Flickr page -  https://www.flickr.com/groups/librarysnapshotday

Heritage Quest Census Maps

It's still Family History Month, so here's a little tip I learned about the library's Heritage Quest Online database in a recent online webinar:

After logging in, choose Census and Browse.  After you choose a census year and state, a link will appear that says "View State Map."

When you click on the link, it opens a new window with a map of that state.  Current counties are outlined in white; counties for the census year are outlined in black.

Texas in 1860

In 1850 (pictured at left), Erath county (of which Stephenville is the county seat) didn't exist.  It - and part or all of many of today's surrounding counties - were part of a then-huge Milam county.

By 1860 (pictured below), some boundaries had changed.  Erath County's boundaries are close to what they are now.  Adjacent Hood and Somerville counties were part of Johnson County in 1860.  The maps also note information such as the fact that all census records for Tarrant County (Fort Worth) were lost for 1860.

Texas in 1860

Texas in 1870

For the 1870 census (pictured below), Erath County has the shape it has today.  However, apparently there are no records for adjacent Palo Pinto County - indications are that it was not enumerated separately, and perhaps was not enumerated at all.

These handy maps can help the researcher figure out where to look for ancestors.

Library Learning Commons Website

As most of you know, the Library Learning Commons (LLC) is now complete. You can enjoy a nice cup of coffee, get tech help, and even setup tutoring sessions, to name a few amenities. The new space is comfortable and inviting. If you haven't had the opportunity to check it out, you are missing out on some of the most state of the art technologies on campus. There are collaboration stations, KIC scanners, and charging stations. In the near future, you can expect to find a laptop vending machine. The easiest way to access any information about the LLC is to use our LLC website.

Need assistance? Call 254-968-9249 or email reference@tarleton.edu

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