Category Archives: WSL News

Celebrating Flag Day in Wyoming Newspapers

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That the flag of the United States shall be of thirteen stripes of alternate red and white, with a union of thirteen stars of white in a blue field, representing the new constellation.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, this was the resolution adopted by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777, following the report of a special committee that had been assigned to suggest the flag’s design. Schools all over the country began holding Flag Day celebrations in the late 1800s, but it wasn’t until 1916 when President Wilson issued a proclamation asking for June 14 to be observed as the National Flag Day. On August 3, 1949, Congress approved the national observance, and President Harry Truman signed it into law.

You can find many instances of Flag Day celebrations in Wyoming Newspapers dating back to the 1800s — search for “Flag Day” in quotes to find a bunch.

A headline in the June 9, 1943 Slip Stream, the official paper of the Army Air Base in Casper, proclaimed: “Air Base Will Take Part in Flag Day Parade.” The event was sponsored by the Casper Elks club with assistance from Air Base personnel. Businesses planned to close for the parade, which was “expected to be one of the largest ever held in Casper and hundreds of Air Base troops will participate. Scheduled to take part are the Air Base color guards, and many other units.”

The Slip Stream is one of several historical military newspapers freely accessible online in Wyoming Newspapers. 

 

Wyoming State Library Closed Memorial Day

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From the May 29, 1922, Casper Daily Tribune, via Wyoming Newspapers.

The Wyoming State Library will be closed on Monday, May 29, for the observance of Memorial Day. We will be open our normal hours again on Tuesday.

On Memorial Day, we remember those who have died serving our country. You can read more about the history of Memorial Day from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

New Library Science Books at WSL

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Three new cataloging books were added to the Wyoming State Library professional library science collection recently. Stop by our offices or request these by interlibrary loan if you would like to borrow them. Our professional collection has everything from children’s programs to library management — search titles in WYLDCAT or browse the latest additions on our Pinterest board. Questions, comments, or suggestions for purchases may be directed to Library Development Manager Brian Greene at brian.greene@wyo.gov or (307) 777-6339.

Cataloging and classification : an introduction (4th ed.)
Lois Mai Chan and Athena Salaba
Lanham, Maryland : Rowman & Littlefield, [2016]
The fourth edition of the late Lois Mai Chan’s classic Cataloging and Classification covers the analysis and representation of methods used in describing, organizing, and providing access to resources made available in or through libraries. Since the last edition published in 2007, there have been dramatic changes in cataloging systems from the Library of Congress. The most notable being the shift from AACR2 to Resource Description and Access (RDA) as the new standard developed by the Library of Congress. With the help of the coauthor, Athena Salaba, this text is modified throughout to conform to the new standard.

Classifying church or synagogue library materials (2nd rev. ed.)
Dorothy B. Kersten.
Portland, Or. : Church and Synagogue Library Association, 1989, c1977.

Cataloging sheet maps : the basics
Paige G. Andrew
New York : Haworth Information Press, c2003.
With an easily understood how-to format, this ready reference manual will introduce you to the basics of cataloging sheet maps on OCLC, using MARC 21 and ISBD standards and AACR2R. It will guide you through each area of the bibliographic record, focusing most specifically on the title and statement of responsibility, mathematical data, physical description, main entry, and notes areas.

A Letters About Literature Reading List

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The Letters About Literature contest invites each student in grades 4-12 to write to an author—living or dead—whose work influenced the student’s life. It’s not a formal report where someone picks a book the child or teen “should” read. Instead, the students themselves pick the books that touched their hearts. If a fourth grader found inspiration in War and Peace, so be it. If a high school senior turned his or her life around after reading Captain Underpants, we welcome their letter. What matters most is that a connection was made.

With that in mind, we thought it would be fun this year to compile a reading list of  all the titles our Wyoming Letters About Literature participants chose. Some are newer, some are classics, some might be surprises, but all touched the lives of at least one young reader. Enjoy.

Level 1 (grades 4-6)

  • Who Was Alexander the Great? by Kathryn Waterfield and Robin Waterfield
  • The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg
  • Lincoln’s Last Days by Bill O’Reilly and Dwight Jon Zimmerman
  • Dancing in the Wings by Debbie Allen
  • Long Haul (Diary of a Wimpy Kid series) by Jeff Kenney
  • Angela’s Wings by Eric Jon Nones
  • The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
  • A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
  • Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
  • Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse
  • The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
  • Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
  • Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Level 2

  • Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
  • A Child Called “It” by Dave Pelzer
  • Left Behind by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  • The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
  • Divergent by Veronica Roth
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
  • The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
  • A Child Called “It” by Dave Pelzer
  • Frozen by Robin Wasserman
  • All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
  • Inheritance Cycle (series) by Christopher Paolini
  • Letters for Emily by Camron Wright
  • The Shining by Stephen King

Level 3

  • Yassmin’s Story by Yassmin Abdel-Magied
  • Skate by Michael Harmon
  • Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
  • Michael Vey (series) by Richard Paul Evans
  • I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
  • The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
  • Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
  • Booked by Kwame Alexander
  • Mark of the Grizzly by Scott McMillion
  • Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
  • A Child Called “It” by Dave Pelzer
  • Tyrell by Coe Booth
  • One Summer by David Baldacci
  • Divergent by Veronica Roth
  • 70 x 7 and Beyond by Monty Christensen
  • Solitary by Travis Thrasher
  • Two by Two by Nicholas Sparks
  • Writing My Wrongs by Shaka Senghor
  • Black and White by Paul Volponi
  • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Letters About Literature is a program of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress, with support from the Dollar General Foundation.

Letters About Literature 2016-17 Winners Named

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The Wyoming State Library has named top honors in state-level competition in the 2016-17 Letters About Literature Contest, a program of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.

The WSL awarded 5th grade student Connor Klindt of Laramie first place in Level 1 (grades 4-6). Kris Balstad, an 8th grader at Thermopolis Middle School in Thermopolis, took first place in Level 2 (grades 7-8), and Laramie 9th grader Arundathi Nair took first in Level 3 (grades 9-12). The full list of winners and links to their letters is below.

Wyoming’s entries were judged by A. Rose Hill, a former Poet Laureate of Wyoming (Level 1); Mary Billiter, a romance author and award-winning weekly newspaper columnist with the Casper Star-Tribune (Level 2); and Laurel Shelley Reuss, a comic artist and writer of graphic novels, webcomics and tabletop role-playing games.

Level 1 (grades 4-6):

Level 2 (grades 7-8):

Level 3 (grades 9-12)

All three first place winners advanced to national competition and will receive a $150 Amazon gift card from the Wyoming Center for the Book. Second place winners will receive a $100 Amazon gift card and third place winners will receive a $50 card.

Letters About Literature is a reading and writing contest for students in grades 4-12. Students are asked to read a book, poem or speech and write to the author (living or dead) about how the book affected them personally. Letters are judged on state and national levels. Tens of thousands of students from across the country enter Letters About Literature each year.

The 2016-2017 Letters About Literature contest for young readers is made possible by a generous grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, with additional support from gifts to the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, which promotes the contest through its affiliate Centers for the Book, state libraries and other organizations.

WYLD Board Thanks Brian Greene

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Brian Greene, “Our WYLD Hero!” Today, the WYLD Governing Board honored Brian, who managed the WYLD Office at the Wyoming State Library for 16 years.

The WYLD Governing Board honored Brian Greene today for his many years of service to the WYLD Network.

Brian with Wyoming State Librarian Jamie Markus.

“The WYLD Governing Board appreciates Brian’s 16 years of leadership,” said Jamie Markus, Wyoming State Librarian. “His vision saw WYLD through many changes and improvements. We’re grateful for all he’s done for the libraries out in the state.”

Greene has worked 25 years for the Wyoming State Library. Currently, he is the WSL’s Library Development Manager, a position he moved into in October of last year after 16 years at the helm as the WYLD Program Manager.

Greene’s also been an active member of the Wyoming Library Association for more than 24 years, serving as President from 2007-08. He was named WLA Librarian of the Year in 1999.

Drips and Dropcloths at the WSL

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Seed libraries might be trending, but at the Wyoming State Library we’re going for the greenhouse look with sheets of plastic throughout the stacks. Above, left to right, WSL staffers Robyn Mofield, Abby Beaver, Angie Wolff, and Travis Pollok are hard at work protecting the documents from leaks and drips.

Unlike a seed library, we’re hoping nothing sprouts. The WSL’s roof is slated for replacement this year.