Wednesday, October 17, 2012

New Books Added to Arkansas Room Collection



Publication Date: December 5, 2011
Series: Making the Modern South


In Delta Empire Jeannie Whayne employs the fascinating history of a powerful plantation owner in the Arkansas delta to recount the evolution of southern agriculture from the late nineteenth century through World War II.

After his father's death in 1870, Robert E. ''Lee'' Wilson inherited 400 acres of land in Mississippi County, Arkansas. Over his lifetime, he transformed that inheritance into a 50,000-acre lumber operation and cotton plantation. Early on, Wilson saw an opportunity in the swampy local terrain, which sold for as little as fifty cents an acre, to satisfy an expanding national market for Arkansas forest reserves. He also led the fundamental transformation of the landscape, involving the drainage of tens of thousands of acres of land, in order to create the vast agricultural empire he envisioned.

A consummate manager, Wilson employed the tenancy and sharecropping system to his advantage while earning a reputation for fair treatment of laborers, a reputation--Whayne suggests--not entirely deserved. He cultivated a cadre of relatives and employees from whom he expected absolute devotion. Leveraging every asset during his life and often deeply in debt, Wilson saved his company from bankruptcy several times, leaving it to the next generation to successfully steer the business through the challenges of the 1930s and World War II.

Delta Empire: Lee Wilson and the Transformation of Agriculture in the New South traces the transition from the labor-intensive sharecropping and tenancy system to the capital-intensive plantations of the post-World War II era. Through Wilson's story Whayne provides a compelling case study of strategic innovation and the changing economy of the South in the late nineteenth century.  



February 1, 2012
 
Things You Need to Hear gathers memories of Arkansans from all over the state with widely different backgrounds. In their own words, these people tell of the things they did growing up in the early twentieth century to get an education, what they ate, how they managed to get by during difficult times, how they amused themselves and earned a living, and much more.

Some of Margaret Bolsterli's "informants," as she calls them, are famous (Johnny Cash, Maya Angelou, Levon Helm, Joycelyn Elders), but many more are not. Their vivid personal stories have been taken from published works and from original interviews conducted by Bolsterli. All together, these tales preserve memories of ways of life that are compelling, entertaining, and certainly well worth remembering.





Publication Date: March 1, 2012

A man squanders his family fortune until he is penniless, loses every time he runs for public office, and yet is so admired by the people of Arkansas that the General Assembly names a county in his honor. A renowned writer makes her home in the basement of a museum until she is sued by some of the most prominent women of the state regarding the use of the rooms upstairs. A brilliant inventor who nearly built the first airplane is also vilified for his eccentricity and possible madness.

Author Steven Teske rummages through Arkansas's colorful past to find--and "unvarnish"--some of the state's most controversial and fascinating figures. The nine people featured in this collection are not the most celebrated products of Arkansas. More than half of them were not even born in Arkansas, although all of them lived in Arkansas and contributed to its history and culture. But each of them has achieved a certain stature in local folklore, if not in the story of the state as a whole.



May 1, 2012
 
For twenty-one years, Judge Isaac C. Parker ruled in the federal court at Fort Smith, Arkansas, the gateway to the wild and lawless Western frontier. Parker, however, was not the "hangin' judge" that casual legend portrays. In most cases, the guilt or innocence of those tried in his court really was not in question once their stories were told. These horrible crimes would have screamed out for justice in any circumstance. Author Jerry Akins has finally arrived at the real story about Parker and his court by comparing newspaper accounts of the trials and executions to what has been written and popularized in other books.


Tuesday, October 2, 2012

If All Arkansas Read the Same Book author Laura Castoro


The romance novels of Arkansas writer Laura Castoro made an appearance at the library tonight. She was selected for the 2012 statewide reading program, If All Arkansas Read the Same Book. Arkansans are encouraged to read the books and participate
Photo: The romance novels of Arkansas writer Laura Castoro made an appearance at the library tonight.  She was selected for the 2012 statewide reading program, If All Arkansas Read the Same Book. Arkansans are encouraged to read the books and participate in author events and book discussions at public libraries across the state from Oct. 1 - 15.  

Her books were chosen because of the popularity of the romance genre with Arkansas library patrons.  Laura stated that she writes about the modern woman’s life as she sees it. Over the past 32 years, she has written 39 published books in such genres as historical romance, contemporary romance, westerns, sagas and romantic suspense.”

Castoro is a sought-after speaker and writing workshop leader. She is president-elect of Novelists, Inc., a writers’ organization devoted exclusively to the needs of multi-published novelists. She is also a past president and remains on the board of the Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow, a working writers’ residence program in Eureka Springs, AR.  

Her current books available in print or ebook format are Icing on the Cake and Love on the Line. A New Lu and Found: One Marriage are available in ebook format only.
Laura Casto
in author events and book discussions at public libraries across the state from Oct. 1 - 15.

Her books were chosen because of the popularity of the romance genre with Arkansas library patrons. Laura stated that she writes about the modern woman’s life as she sees it. Over the past 32 years, she has written 39 published books in such genres as historical romance, contemporary romance, westerns, sagas and romantic suspense.

Castoro is a sought-after speaker and writing workshop leader. She is president-elect of Novelists, Inc., a writers’ organization devoted exclusively to the needs of multi-published novelists. She is also a past president and remains on the board of the Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow, a working writers’ residence program in Eureka Springs, AR.

Her current books available in print or ebook format are Icing on the Cake and Love on the Line. A New Lu and Found: One Marriage are available in ebook format only.  















 

Friday, September 14, 2012

Antietam: Can One Picture Tell the Story?


From Library of Congress 

 

If you had to pick just one picture to represent the Battle of Antietam, which would you choose?
 
Unidentified Girl in Mourning Dress . . . .
 
Holding Framed Photograph of Her Father. . . . Tintype, 1861-1870.  
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.36863

 A photograph of a young girl wearing mourning ribbons and holding a photograph of her father could symbolize the wide-spread and lasting losses suffered after the single bloodiest day of fighting in American history. On September 17, 1862, more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed or wounded at Antietam Creek near the small town of Sharpsburg in Western Maryland. 

A Lone Grave, Antietam, Maryland. Glass negative by Alexander Gardner, 1862. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cwpb.01110
A Lone Grave, Antietam, Maryland. Glass negative by Alexander Gardner, 1862.
 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cwpb.01110

The impact of death is also the theme chosen for the cover of Antietam: The Photographic Legacy of America’s Bloodiest Day — a ground-breaking book by William Frassanito. But here, the scene of a grave emphasizes the soldiers who gave their lives. The photographer Alexander Gardner and his assistant James Gibson were the only cameramen at Antietam soon after the battle.
Among the approximately 100 photographs that Gardner and Gibson took, the graphic views of dead soldiers are the most famous. These were the first photos to show Americans killed in battle. But Gardner omitted these views when he published his famous two-volume history, Gardner’s Photographic Sketch Book of the War. He chose landscape scenes to represent key locations, while calling on his reader’s imagination to fill in the rest.
Waud AntietamBurning of Mr. Muma's (sic) houses and barns at the fight of the 17th of Sept. Drawing by Alfred R. Waud, 1862. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.21452

Battle of Antietam. Chromolithograph by Prang, 1887. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pga.04031

Battle of Antietam. Chromolithograph by L. Prang & Co., after a painting by Thure de Thulstrup, 1887. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pga.04031

To convey the fierceness of the fighting, you could select an original sketch (above left) by Alfred Waud, one of the artists who actually witnessed the action at Antietam. The engraved illustrations made from their drawings and published in such newspapers as Harper’s Weekly brought the war into the homes of many people. 

To emphasize military valor, or simply to attract attention through a full-color image, you might suggest a commemorative lithograph (above right) produced 25 years after the battle. The Prang Company captured the large scale of the combat with the Dunker Church in the background.
Which picture do I choose? When I hear the word Antietam, a photograph comes to mind first — the bodies of fallen soldiers and a horse near the damaged Dunker Church. Alexander Gardner summed up both the horror of the day and the effect on individual people in a single well-composed scene.
Bodies of Confederate artillerymen near Dunker church. Photo by Alexander Gardner, 1862, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.32887
Bodies of Confederate artillerymen near Dunker church. Photo by Alexander Gardner, 1862. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.32887

Which picture best reflects Antietam for you? The American Civil War is a major strength of the collections in the Prints & Photographs Division at the Library of Congress, so be prepared for a difficult decision!

Learn More:

Thursday, August 30, 2012

NEW BOOKS ADDED TO COLLECTION

     As Arkansas' largest archival institution and official keeper of the State's documentary heritage, the Arkansas History Commission collects, preserves, and makes available archival materials and historical objects important to the overall understanding of Arkansas history and culture.  In an effort to fulfill its mission since being established by the General Assembly in 1905, the History Commission has actively south materials related to the tumultuous years of the Civil War:

     As a result of more than 100 years of acquisition, the State Archives houses the most comprehensive resources pertaining to Arkansas in the Civil War available anywhere.  The State's most important documents from the war years--state constitutions of 1861, 1864, and 1868; Arkansas' secession ordinance; governors' papers; diaries; letters; photographs; newspapers; currency; maps; and three-dimensional objects--are preserved by the History Commission





      Sue Bedwell Goodson is a life-long resident of Howard County, Arkansas.  She descended from one of the state's earliest pioneer families.  Through the influence of itinerant preacher, William Stevenson, Sue's fourth Grandfather, John Henry, and family migrated from southern Missouri to southwest Arkansas in 1817 as part of a group of 30 families whose purpose was to establish a Methodist Society.  They brought with them livestock, some farm implements and fools.  They settled just north of Old Washington at Mound Prairie.


     A church was erected that same year.  However, probably due to a land title dispute, it was necessary to build a second log building in a nearby location.  This church was known as Henry's Chapel.  It served the community for about fifty years.  It no longer stands but in 1961 a monument was placed at its location by the Little Rock Conference Historical Society of the Methodist Church.  Henry's Chapel was the mother church of the Church at Old Washington.  John Henry preached a this new church on numerous occasions.  (This is documented in the booklet given to visitors of the church.)  This church is still in service and is the oldest continually meeting Methodist church in Arkansas.

      In 1841, John Henry and his family moved ten miles north of Nashville to the community of Center Point.  He preached there well into his 80s.  He was affectionately known as Father Henry.  He is buried in the cemetery at Center Point.  Today, Sue lives in Center Point near where her family has lived since those early days.

A special thanks to Mrs. Goodson for her gift of these two books to the library's Arkansas Room collection.



Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Free Genealogy Websites

The Internet's oldest and largest free genealogical community. An award winning genealogical resource with searchable databases, free Web space, mailing lists, message boards, and more.  

A site to check multiple genealogy queries by surname, offering a way to locate ancestral information, but locate living relatives as well.  

Part of a nationwide genealogy database, but is specific to Louisiana, and has Louisiana genealogical information arranged by parish.  

A National Park Service database which offers military information for Confederate and Union soldiers and sailors.  

Searchable database of passenger lists that have been transcribed to the Internet, inlcuding New Orleans, Louisiana.  

Online searchable census. Not all years and parishes/counties represented.  

An excellent explanation of the U. S. census and what is available on the cenus from 1790 to 1930.  

A searchable database by name or Social Security number.  

Searchable land record database for many states, including Louisiana.  

Contact information and materials available at the State Archives.  

To obtain copies of Arkansas vital records, such as Arkansas birth certificates, Arkansas death records, Arkansas marriage licenses & Arkansas divorce decrees.  

Alphabetical listing of many Louisiana cemeteries.  

Contact information for Jefferson County Clerk's office.

Other Sites

US Vital Records
FamilySearch
Family Tree Maker
Genealogy Toolbox
Geni
National Archives & Records
National Genealogical Society
Tribal Pages
US GenWeb Project
Cyndi's List

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Census Bureau Releases Estimates of Undercount and Overcount in the 2010 Census


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2012

The U.S. Census Bureau released today results from its post-enumeration survey, providing a measure of the accuracy of the 2010 Census. The results found that the 2010 Census had a net overcount of 0.01 percent, meaning about 36,000 people were overcounted in the census. This sample-based result, however, was not statistically different from zero.

U.S. Total Percentage Net Undercount from 1980-2010
            TableThe post-enumeration survey, called “Census Coverage Measurement,” measures the coverage of the nation's household population (excluding the 8.0 million people in “group quarters,” such as nursing homes or college dorms). It surveys a sample of the 300.7 million people living in housing units and then matches the responses to the census, resulting in estimates of error.

The 2000 Census had an estimated net overcount of 0.49 percent and the 1990 Census had a net undercount of 1.61 percent.
“On this one evaluation — the net undercount of the total population — this was an outstanding census,” Census Bureau Director Robert Groves said. “When this fact is added to prior positive evaluations, the American public can be proud of the 2010 Census their participation made possible.” 

Components of Coverage

The Census Bureau also released estimates of the components of coverage: the number of correct census records, erroneous enumerations and omissions.

The Census Bureau estimates that among the 300.7 million people who live in housing units, about 94.7 percent were counted correctly, about 3.3 percent were counted erroneously, 1.6 percent provided only a census count and had their demographic characteristics imputed, or statistically inserted, and 0.4 percent needed more extensive imputation after all census follow-up efforts were attempted. Among those erroneously counted, about 84.9 percent were duplicates, while the remainder were incorrectly counted for another reason, such as people who died before Census Day (April 1, 2010), who were born after Census Day or were fictitious census records.

The Census Bureau estimated 16.0 million omissions in the census. Omissions include people missed in the census and people whose census records could not be verified in the post-enumeration survey because they did not answer enough of the demographic characteristic questions in the census. Of the 16.0 million omissions, about 6.0 million were likely counted in the census but couldn't be verified in the post-enumeration survey.

Variation by Characteristics

As with previous censuses, the coverage of the population varied across demographic characteristics.

The 2010 Census undercounted renters by 1.1 percent, showing no significant change compared with 2000. Homeowners were overcounted in both the 2000 and 2010 censuses. However, the 2010 Census reduced the net overcount for homeowners from 1.2 percent to 0.6 percent. Renters were more likely to be duplicated than owners and twice as likely to have all of their characteristics imputed.

As with prior censuses, coverage varied by race and Hispanic origin. The 2010 Census overcounted the non-Hispanic white alone population by 0.8 percent, not statistically different from an overcount of 1.1 percent in 2000.

The 2010 Census undercounted 2.1 percent of the black population, which was not statistically different from a 1.8 percent undercount in 2000. In 2010, 1.5 percent of the Hispanic population was undercounted. In 2000, the estimated undercount of 0.7 percent was not statistically different from zero. The difference between the two censuses was also not statistically significant.

The Census Bureau did not measure a statistically significant undercount for the Asian or for the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander populations in 2010 (at 0.1 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively). These estimates were also not statistically different from the results measured in 2000 (a 0.8 percent overcount and a 2.1 percent undercount, respectively).

Coverage of the American Indian and Alaska Native population varied by geography. American Indians and Alaska Natives living on reservations were undercounted by 4.9 percent, compared with a 0.9 percent overcount in 2000. The net error for American Indians not living on reservations was not statistically different from zero in 2010 or 2000.

Men 18 to 29 and 30 to 49 were undercounted in 2010, while women 30 to 49 were overcounted, a pattern consistent with 2000. The estimated overcount of women 18 to 29 was not statistically significant.

“While the overall coverage of the census was exemplary, the traditional hard-to-count groups, like renters, were counted less well,” Groves said. “Because ethnic and racial minorities disproportionately live in hard-to-count circumstances, they too were undercounted relative to the majority population.” 

 
Other Findings
  • The post-enumeration survey did not measure a statistically significant undercount or overcount in the population or housing units for any state.
  • The survey did not measure a statistically significant undercount or overcount for the population in any counties or places of 100,000 or more.
  • The 2010 Census undercounted housing units, mostly because of an undercount of vacant units. On the other hand, there was no statistically significant undercount or overcount of occupied housing units.
  • As a whole, erroneous enumerations and imputations were lower among people who mailed back a census form, compared with those counted by a door-to-door census taker. Additionally, responses mailed back earlier in the process were generally less likely to have erroneous enumerations than those mailed later.
  • Among people counted door-to-door by a census taker, responses from a household member were more accurate than those from proxies, such as neighbors or landlords who provided information when a householder could not be reached or refused to participate in the census.

“We'll use these coverage estimates to build a better 2020 Census,” Groves said. “The 2010 Census used a variety of operations to improve coverage of the population. We now have measures of their success, which will inform cost-quality tradeoff decisions for the 2020 Census.”

The post-enumeration survey is one of three types of indicators that measure the quality of a census. The others consist of process indicators, which measure the quality of census operations and data collection, and comparisons to other methods of estimating population size. Each type of quality indicator has its own strengths and weaknesses as a measurement tool. For example, the estimates from the post-enumeration survey have sampling error and are susceptible to violations of the underlying statistical assumptions.
 
For new and updated content, including webinars, technical briefings, and detailed reports, on the U.S. Census Bureau's measure of the accuracy of the 2010 Census, see http://2010.census.gov/news/press-kits/ccm/ccm.html


For further information or questions, contact the U.S. Census Bureau's AES Branch
Telephone: (800) 549-0595, select option 1 for AES
Email: askaes@census.gov
Foreign Trade Division Website
Global Reach Blog

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Computer Lab Update

Terrance Griffin installing new computers in Main Library's lab.

At the beginning of the week, the main library's computer lab on the second level was available again to the library patrons.  Now that the lab is opened, patrons feel that it was worth the wait. 


Terrance Griffin, the library's IT Manager, installed 16 new computer in the labs.  Since the computers are new, one would expect some occasional glitches, but there hasn't been any thanks to Terrance's proficiency and  attention to every detail.


The new computers were greatly needed and look and have the latest operating systems installed in them.  The patrons are very pleased with this improvement. Closing the library and the computer labs to make these improvements has benefited everyone.

Terrance will also be installing new computers at the library's branch location. 



Library computer use and network access is a privilege, and requires that individual users act responsibly. Users must respect the rights of other users, respect the integrity of the systems, data, and related physical resources, and observe all relevant laws, regulations, and contractual obligations.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

The 72-year wait is over!

http://c.mfcreative.com/offer/1940census/censusheadline.jpg

On April 1, 1940, there were 132,164,569 people living in America. And today, 87 percent of Americans can find a direct family link to one – or more – of them.  

When the 1940 U.S. Federal Census is opened to the public this 
April 2, 2012, we’ll have a window into every one of those 132 million lives. Their names, where they lived, who shared their house, even where they were five years earlier.

And that’s just for starters. 

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Welcome and Farewell. . .

Michael Sawyer

   Library Board and Staff invite everyone 
Thursday, March 29th 
from 4:00 - 6:00 pm 
to the 
Main Library to 
welcome Michael Sawyer 
to the community 
as the new Director 
of the 
Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Library System. 








Dave Burdick and Skruffy
 We will be 

saying goodbye 

to Dave Burdick 

as he and Marcia, 

and their dogs 

Skruffy and Bubba

"Take to the Road" 

in their RV. 






Mr. Dave, We wish you the best in this next phase in your life.  Enjoy the adventure that awaits you.   Now its time to chase those dreams that kept getting postponed for lack of time and too much work and responsibilities. But we will be following you along on your blog, which can be found at www.goingrvway.com      Happy Trails. . .

Monday, March 5, 2012

Google Earth for Genealogists: Plot Your Ancestors’ Lives

Most of us never get to travel to all the places our ancestors lived, but you can follow in their footsteps — virtually.



…..Google Earth will enable you to see the migration patterns of a particular surname or family, and what it looks like now where they once lived or live; from a birds eye view. Coupled with you’re own research, hopefully, this will give a unique perspective on Genealogy.



Google Earth, a free software program,
 lets you experience faraway locations from the comfort of your own home.