Absentee Voter Guide

So...have you registered to vote? Also, here is an Absentee Voter Guide that gives all the information you will need if you are a college student living out of state and needs to vote by absentee ballot from campus.

Hurricane Ike Recovery

The McNeese Library survived Hurricane Ike with no visible damage. Phew! Up here on the 4th floor in the Government Documents Department, the only damage is some soggy ceiling tiles. Thank goodness our collection was not damaged, unlike what happened during Hurricane Rita. After all the time we are investing rebuilding and organizing the collection, I'd hate to see our efforts be thwarted!

Of course, thousands of others were not so lucky. Thousands have lost their homes or their entire neighborhoods. Thousands have watched their homes damaged or filled with flood waters. Thousands still do not have electricity. If you are wondering how you can offer your services, volunteer to help, or where to send donations, consult the following resources:

* American Red Cross
* DisasterHelp.gov
* USA Freedom Corps
* ReliefWeb - Hurricane Ike Page
* Volunteer Center of SW Louisiana

Visit HHS.gov Hurricane Disaster page and the USA.gov Hurricane Recovery or the Hurricane Information pages for more information getting assitance, finding family & friends, shelter & housing, donating & volunteering, and other FAQs. If you are in need of assistance, apply here at the FEMA website.

I Do NOT Like Ike

Here we go again. Stay safe from the wrath of Hurricane Ike! See my last post which listed resources to go to for all your hurricane information needs. Hopefully this will be the last hurricane of the season...cross your fingers.

9/11 Anniversary

Today is the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. USA.gov created a webpage listing various 9/11 commemorations and information about that tragic day.

Explore the September 11th Digital Archive for stories, images, emails, documents, sounds, and videos. You can also contribute by telling your story or upload other digital files to the Archive.

The Smithsonian has an online exhibit and physical collection of artifacts in D.C. entitled "September 11: Bearing Witness to History".

The Library of Congress also has an online exhibit and physical collection entitled "Witness and Response: September 11 Acquisitions at the Library of Congress".

Register to VOTE!

The deadline for registering to vote in Louisiana is October 6, 2008. Have you registered yet? If you are a louisiana resident, learn more about registering to vote and where to vote at GeauxVote.com.

Or register at RocktheVote.org by filling out the form, and mail it in. It's that easy.

DeclareYourself.com is another place to register and you can check your state's rules for voter registration deadline.

And you can go to Vote411.org to find your local polling place or learn more about the election and voting process.

Hurricane Recovery

I am currently in Fayetteville, AR with friends and will be returning to Lake Charles and McNeese tomorrow. From what I've heard or seen on the news, Lake Charles suffered minimal damage compared to the destruction of Hurricane Rita in 2005, and I hope that the library (including our 4th floor Government Documents Department) is spared of any damage. Our department suffered much damage from Rita and I dread having to deal with any more destruction to our collection. Many friends and colleagues evacuated, but for those who stayed behind, I hope you are safe and recovery efforts will be successful.

Ironically, this month is National Hurricane Preparedness Month, and since Hanna, Ike, and Josephine are brewing in the Atlantic, you better not put away your plywood boards or hurricane emergency kits just yet. GovGab has a nice blog entry with resources for hurricane preparedness and USA.gov has an excellent resource page with information about what to do after the storm, state emergency info, finding family & friends, hurricane tracking, and emergency preparedness.

To learn how you can help in the aftermath of a hurricane and aid in recovery, visit the website of the American Red Cross at redcross.org. You can also receive frequent updates and emergency alerts at the Red Cross Twitter alert page.

The image in the upper right corner depicts Hurricane Gustav after landfall over Louisiana and was taken by a NASA satellite.

Republican National Convention

The 2008 Republican National Convention began yesterday and will continue till September 4th in Minneapolis, MN. Although it got off to a rocky start due to concern over Hurricane Gustav, the convention is commencing and President Bush will address the convention via satellite tonight from the White House. To stay up to date with the events and learn more about the convention, consult the following resources:

GOPConvention.com - The 2008 Republican National Convention will be held September 1st - 4th in Minneapolis, MN.

YouTube has pages for both political conventions with coverage.

CNN’s live streaming site will be carrying live coverage throughout the conventions.

Become a fan of the 2008 Republican convention and follow all of the action from your Facebook profile.

John McCain Fan Page on Facebook.

John McCain.com - The Republican candidate for the Republican party in the 2008 Presidential election.

GOP.com - Official website of the national Republican party (GOP stands for "Grand Old Party").

Guide to the History of Republican and Democratic National Conventions - Poynter Online's compilation of web resources on the history of the Republican and Democratic National Political Conventions, 1856-2008. Take the Wikipedia entries they include with a grain of salt. Anyone can edit those articles!

Who is Sarah Palin?

Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, has been chosen as Senator John McCain’s running mate for the 2008 presidential election. For more information about Palin, visit the following resources:

* Official website of Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin

* National Governor's Association Bio page on Palin

* Project Vote Smart's list of organizations Palin belonged to and a summary of her career.

* Ontheissues.org shows how Palin has voted or where she stands on certain issues.

* Facebook fan page for Sarah Palin

And I don't know about you, but I think Sarah Palin looks like a librarian...