Thanksgiving Break Hours

Veteran's Day is November 11

Veteran's Day for 2009 is Wednesday, November 11th. Started in November 1919 by President Woodrow Wilson, the first Veteran's Day (then called Armistice Day) was created to commemorate those that had served and died in World War I. Since then, a grateful nation takes time to salute each American that has served as a member of our armed forces on Veteran's Day.

To read a history of the holiday, take a look at information from the Veteran's Administration, the Department of the Army and History.com. Through their American Folklife Center, the Library of Congress has assembled their historical resources together in the Veteran's History Project. This year they are highlighting forgotten branches of the service, the Merchant Marines and the Coast Guard with a special page.

For statistics about Veteran's Day, the Census Bureau has a Factfinder page with demographic and labor statistical data. And to see what events happening in Kentucky for Veteran's Day, the Department of Veteran's Affairs has a list.

[Graphic above is official poster for 2009, VA has an archive of posters dating back to 1978 that are available for viewing and downloading.]

Upcoming Alumni Event

Global Road Warrior

The library has recently subscribed to the Global Road Warrior database, a world-class econtent database offering country-by-country information on 175 nations and territories.

The database features more than 8 million words of editorial content, over 6,500 color photos and 1,575 maps, all presented in a consistent 92-category framework for each country. Topics include society and culture, travel essentials, business culture, communications and more. Created by an international team of researchers, cartographers and writers, the database is continually updated.

Talk to a librarian for information on how to connect or if you need help using the database.

Nobel Prize Trivia

By now you have probably heard that President Barack Obama received the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

Did you know that, in addition to President Obama, three other U.S. presidents have won this prestigious award?

President Theodore Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for his efforts in mediating the peace between Russia and Japan. Roosevelt is the only Republican president to have received this honor.

President Woodrow Wilson won the award in 1919 for his work with the League of Nations, a precursor to the United Nations.

President Jimmy Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, for his diplomatic work during and after his presidency.

Other interesting facts about the U.S. presidents, the Nobel Prize, and a variety of other subjects can be found in The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2009, R 317.3 W927 2009, which is located here in the Sullivan University Library and Learning Resource Center. The Nobel Prize also has an informative website where you can find out more about the history of the award and past recipients.

Banned Books list

Now that we’ve told you about what banned books are and what the top 10 banned books were in 2008, we’d like to share with you a list of the banned and challenged books that we have at the Sullivan Lexington Library. Please ask at the reference desk if you want to check out one of these books, and someone will be glad to assist you.

• 1984 by George Orwell; 824.912 O79n
• And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell; JF R
• Beloved by Toni Morrison; DVD 791.43 B452
• Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger; 813.54 S165c
• Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going; JF G
• Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling; JF R
• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov; 813.54 N117l
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil; DVD 791.43 M6296
• Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes; JF H
• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor; JF T
• Song of Soloman by Toni Morrison; 813.54 M882s
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain; DVD 813.4 T969a
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker; 813.54 W759c and DVD 791.43 C719
• The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler; JF M
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck; 813.52 S819g
• The Jungle by Upton Sinclair; 813.52 S616j
• The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien; 823.912 T649l
• The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway; 813.52 H488s
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee; 813 L478 and DVD 813.54 T627

Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2008

There were 513 challenges reported to the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2008. Listed below are the books with the most challenges and why:

• And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. Reasons: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group


• Dark Materials Trilogy, by Philip Pullman. Reasons: political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, and violence


• TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle. Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group


• Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz. Reasons: occult/satanism, religious viewpoint, and violence


• Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya. Reasons: occult/satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, and violence


• The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky. Reasons: drugs, homosexuality, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, suicide, and unsuited to age group


• Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar. Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group


• Uncle Bobby's Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen. Reasons: homosexuality and unsuited to age group


• The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group


• Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle Harper. Reasons: sexually explicit and unsuited to age group

Banned Books Week, September 27-October 3

What is a banned book? Do people really still try to stop information these days? You'd be surprised.

Librarians continue to have groups and individuals attempt to prevent access to certain books. Over the years, books in the library have been both banned and challenged. What's the difference?

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict material, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. Due to the commitment of librarians, teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens, most challenges are unsuccessful and most materials are retained in the school curriculum or library collection. American Library Association

Fall Break Hours

Labor Day 2009

The Library will be closed in celebration of Labor Day, September 7th. Regular hours will resume Tuesday morning, September 8th.

New Personal Chef Diploma Program

Sullivan's new Personal Chef Diploma program is making news in the blogosphere -- the AOL Slashfood blog recently posted an article discussing the new program.

While browsing the web we found the new program is getting good press a few other places as well:

Taste Magazine Cincinnati's Things We Get

my foodservice news

Check it OUT!

College of Pharmacy Drug Information Center Opening

Mama, a Baby Hippo, and a Turtle

What do the book Mama, an orphaned hippo, and an elderly tortoise have in common?

Mama: A True Story in Which a Baby Hippo Loses His Mama During a Tsunami, But Finds a New Home and a New Mama, written by Jeanette Winter, tells the story of an orphaned hippo whose mother died in the tsunami of 2004. After being rescued and taken to a wildife reserve, the hippo befriended a tortoise named Mzee. Using only one word, mama, Ms. Winter conveys the heartbreak of the hippo and the security it finds in its friendship with the tortoise. Mama is one of the new titles available in the Sullivan Library & Learning Resource Center, and the library staff invites you to come check it out along with our other new arrivals.

To see the real hippo and tortoise, named Owen & Mzee respectively, check out their blog for pictures and updated information about them. The blog also has reports about the other activities and animals that live on the wild game reserve.

Owen & Mzee's Blog

4th of July Holiday

The Library will be closed July 3rd and 4th. Regular hours will resume Monday, July 6th.

Library hours - June Break