Thursday, January 27, 2011

Final Report of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission

Published by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report investigates the causes of the financial and economic crisis of 2007-2010.

On May 20, 2009, President Obama signed into law an Act that established the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to "examine the causes, domestic and global, of the current financial and economic crisis in the United States." During the course of its investigation, the ten person bipartisan committee reviewed millions of pages of documents, interviewed more than 700 witnesses, and held 19 days of public hearings in New York, Washington, D.C., and communities across the country that were hit hard by the crisis.

The final report presents the Commission's findings and conclusions and also contains 126 pages of dissenting views. The Commission terminates sixty days following the release of its final report.

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report (662 pages) will be disseminated to Federal depository libraries as follows:

* Title: The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report: Final Report of the National Commission on the Causes of the Financial and
Economic Crisis in the United States. Official Government Edition, January 2011.
* Class: Y 3.2:F 49/2/C 86
* PURL: http://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo3449

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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

My Reading Life by Pat Conroy


Pat Conroy's love affair with books began with his mom's love for literature. A high school English teacher also had a profound influence on him in his early years. In this book, Pat Conroy shares his lifelong love affair with reading. He shares with his readers some of the books that influenced his life, some of the people that called attention to books, and to his encounters with others in the book business -- fellow authors and persons more involved in the publishing aspect. Anyone who aspires to be a writer needs to read this book. Persons studying Conroy's works will find a greater appreciation of them by knowing something of Conroy's life and the extent to which he employed his own life in his work. I've missed reading a few of the classics mentioned by the author as being influential in his own life, and his praise for them makes me want to read these. I've already downloaded a free copy of one of these works to my Kindle application. This is, perhaps, the highest form of praise that I can demonstrate. 4.5 stars.

This book can be found in our lease books.

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Monday, January 24, 2011

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson



Widower Major Ernest Pettigrew lives in the little village of Edgecombe St. Mary. He enjoys his friendship with the widowed Pakistani grocer Jasmina Ali who shares his love for literature. This is a wonderful novel that explores race and prejudice, social customs, inheritance, generation gap, religious differences, and much more. It's a wonderful read with characters you love as well as a few that anger you. Edgecombe St. Mary is an interesting village that most readers will feel they wish they could visit. This book did not disappoint. 4.5 stars.

This book is available on our Lease Books shelf. It has also been named one of the top books of 2010 by Amazon.com and others. Some have described this as an adult coming of age story.

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Thursday, January 13, 2011

New Resource for Gulf Oil Spill

Published by the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, Deep Water: The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling offers the American public and policymakers alike the fullest account available of what happened on April 20, 2010 when the Macondo well blew out. The explosion cost the lives of 11 men and initiated the catastrophe that sank the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that spilled nearly 5 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The spill disrupted an entire region's economy, damaged fisheries and critical habitats, and brought vividly to light the risks of deepwater drilling for oil and gas.

The Commission's final report explains why the well blew out and proposes actions--changes in company behavior, reform of Government oversight, and investments in research and technology--required as the industry moves forward to meet the nation's energy needs.

Deep Water (380 pages) will be distributed to Federal depository libraries in paper format as follows:

* Title: Deep Water: The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling. Report to the President
* Class: PR 44.8:D 36/G 95
* PURL: http://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo2978

In addition to the report, the Commission released a Recommendations document for decision makers (63 pages). This document is also being distributed to Federal depository libraries in paper format as follows:

* Title: Deep Water: The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling. Recommendations.
* Class: PR 44.8: D 36/G 95/RECOMM.
* PURL: http://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo2981


Copies will be distributed to Regionals first and then to all remaining depository libraries within approximately fifteen business days. No action is needed on behalf of depository libraries.

Both the report and recommendations are available on FDsys in PDF format . The report is available for purchase from the U.S. Government Bookstore.

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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Accessing Our Online Catalog

Last week, our online catalog moved to a new server. The links on our Web site should be updated within a few days. The person who normally updates these is snowed in at the moment. In the meantime, if you need to access our catalog, you may go to http://library.acaweb.org/ and click on Carson-Newman College, or you may go directly to http://aaa.iii.com/search~S17.

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