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Celebrate National Park Week 2020 Safely and Responsibly by Bringing the Outdoors In

Posted by & filed under Make a Difference, Special Days.

National Park Week 2020 logo

Every year during the month of April, a Presidential Proclamation sets aside one week for Americans to shine a spotlight on our national parks, acknowledge the men and women entrusted with their care, and reaffirm the importance of investing in the stewardship of these national treasures for future generations.

This year presents a special challenge. Although most national park facilities have been closed and their events canceled because of the current pandemic, the National Park Service (NPS) and its official charitable partner, the National Park Foundation, have come up with several ways that you can enjoy the national parks digitally this season from the safety and comfort of your own home.

First off, each individual day of National Park Week will highlight a specific theme:

  • Saturday, April 18: Junior Ranger Day encourages interested youth to complete a series of activities during a park visit, share their answers with a park ranger, and receive an official Junior Ranger patch and Junior Ranger certificate. Junior Rangers are typically between the ages of 5 to 13, although people of all ages can participate.
  • Sunday, April 19: Volunteer Day recognizes the contributions of the hundreds of thousands of volunteers who contribute million of hours of volunteer service in the NPS Volunteers-in-Parks Program.
  • Monday, April 20: Military Monday salutes the American military, veterans, and their families for the sacrifices they have made and continue to make for our freedom and celebrates the historical ties between the military and the national parks.
  • Tuesday, April 21: Transportation Tuesday highlights the intimate connection between the national parks and transportation in America, from the transcontinental railroad to the expanded access to parks necessitated by the advent of the automobile. This year some of us may have to ditch the cars and settle for a journey of the mind.
  • Wednesday, April 22: Earth Day is a world-wide celebration encouraging environmental education and responsibility, and will be observing its 50th anniversary this year.
  • Thursday, April 23: Throwback Thursday provides both an opportunity to explore the history preserved in national parks and an invitation to share your own memories of visiting our national parks with family and friends.
  • Friday, April 24: Friendship Friday acknowledges and celebrates the many individuals, groups, organizations, and communities that have partnered with the national parks and programs.
  • Saturday, April 25: Park ℞ Day promotes the healing power of the outdoors by encouraging everyone to safely enjoy nature in our homes, backyards, neighborhoods, and nearby parks and trails. This is also an opportunity to acknowledge and thank our Healthcare Heroes serving on the front lines.
  • Sunday, April 26: BARK Ranger Day provides an opportunity for park visitors to learn how to have a positive experience with their pets. BARK stands for Bag your pet’s waste; Always leash your pet; Respect wildlife; and Know where you can go.

In addition to these scheduled events, there are several more safe activities you can participate in at home. Here are a few:

  • Take a virtual tour of a national park. Many national park sites offer online tours and experiences that you can access anytime, anywhere.
  • Tune into PARKTRACKS, an innovative audio experience that can help counter the hustle and bustle of city life and promote tranquility and mindfulness with the relaxing sounds of America’s national parks, captured by the National Park Service’s Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division.
  • Make a gift to support the national parks. If you donate between now and April 30, Nature Valley will match every donation up to $250,000.
  • Finally, see how many experiences you can check off of this checklist of 20 Virtual Ideas for 2020. There are enough activities here to keep anyone busy for the whole week and then some!

What plans do you have for celebrating National Park Week? Be sure to share your experiences on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and other Social Media. Above all, stay safe and recreate responsibly.

Stay Safe; Recreate Responsibly

Article by Bobby Griffith.

National Park Week logo and “Stay Safe—Recreate Responsibly” poster courtesy of National Park Service. Designs by Matt Turner.

April 13th – 17th is Student Employee Appreciation Week

Posted by & filed under Inside the ECL, Local Doings, Special Days.

We believe that a library is defined more by its employees than by the space it occupies. So we would like to take this time to recognize a unique group of valued employees at the Eagle Commons Library @ Sycamore Hall — our student employees.

National Student Employment Week is celebrated the second full week in April every year. Academic employers across the country are taking this week to recognize their student employees, and some have nominated one of their students as Outstanding Student Employee of the Year. This year, our little branch of the UNT library system could not select just one student for this honor, but instead we would like to recognize each and every one of our student employees for their important contributions and dedication to their work.

Some of our wonderful student employees

Our students have achieved a lot over the past couple of years:

  • They helped to incorporate the juvenile collection into our building.
  • They were on the front lines of our battle against mold after a water incident in our basement.
  • They have been instrumental in reorganizing our spaces and collections after repairs to our basement were completed.
  • They help staff our service desk, organize our collections, and provide one-on-one assistance with patron questions and problems with technology in our Creative Learning Commons (CLC) area.

Student assistants relax after building the annual holiday book tree.

Our current situation requires our students to work remotely. They continue to assist our patrons by completing metadata for countless records in our digital library, and they assist with special projects and complete training to hone their skills so they may better assist our patrons in the future.

Our students are adaptable, capable, congenial, and all-around fantastic co-workers. We would like to send a heartfelt thank you to:

Trenecia
Nina
Christiana
Tripp
Miranda
Dalton
Steve
Harley
Raven
&
Adrienne

We hope you all know how much your work means, and that we sincerely appreciate what you do for the UNT campus. Happy Student Employee Appreciation Week!

Article by Erica Kaufman.

Photos of student employees courtesy of the UNT Libraries External Relations Office.

This Popular Dessert Is Just Peachy

Posted by & filed under Is That a Document?, Local Doings, Recipes.

Peach cobbler with a single serving in a separate bowl.

It’s National Peach Cobbler Day

It’s not quite peach season yet, but get out the canned or frozen peaches and you’ll be ready to celebrate National Peach Cobbler Day. Apparently it was invented by the Georgia Peach Council in the 1950s as a way to encourage consumers to buy canned peaches.

According to John Mariani’s Dictionary of American Food and Drink, a cobbler is “a western deep-dish fruit pie with a thick crust and fruit filling . . . It is served with a custard but no topping in Connecticut, with maple sugar in Massachusetts, and with a sour sauce in Vermont.” Texans frequently enjoy it topped off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and it is so popular in this state that in 2013 the Texas Legislature designated peach cobbler the official state cobbler of Texas.

Today we’re featuring a peach cobbler recipe published by the Texas Department of Agriculture in an intriguing collection of recipes that feature Texas olive oil as an ingredient. The cookbook GO TEXAN Olive Oil Recipes: Savor the Flavors of Texas, which is available for checkout in the Eagle Commons Library, but is not published online, was released several years ago as part of the GO TEXAN campaign to promote Texas agricultural products. Did you know that Texas makes olive oil, or that olive oil can be used to make a peach cobbler? If not, here’s your chance to make something special! We’ll take you step by step through the process of preparing this unique dish. Here’s the recipe:

Peach Cobbler recipe

Let’s Build a Cobbler

First, be sure you have all the ingredients you need for the recipe. In these trying times, you want to minimize your trips to the grocery store, and you don’t want to start cooking and realize there is an ingredient you don’t have. I made a couple of departures from the exact instructions: instead of using all-purpose flour, I used half all-purpose and half whole wheat to give it more fiber. I also used Italian instead of Texan olive oil because that’s what they had in the store. Texas olive oil is difficult to find in many stores, even in Texas. In any case, this recipe is taken from another cookbook, and the original recipe does not specify Texas olive oil. That informal variation on the normal recipe is clearly an advertising gimmick and not an essential component of the dish. Here are my ingredients all laid out:

Ingredients for Peach Cobbler Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and lightly spray a medium-size casserole dish with olive oil cooking spray. I used an 8″ x 8″ pan.

Applying a coat of oil to the pan In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add 1/2 cup of liquid from your canned peaches, 1/3 cup of olive oil, 1/3 cup of granulated sugar (I used raw coconut sugar), 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon (I used Saigon cinnamon, which has a sweeter, more intense flavor than Mexican cinnamon), and one large egg. The recipe says to “blend on medium” for one minute. I don’t know if it’s supposed to be put into a blender, but I just whisked it vigorously until everything was smoothly blended together.

Liquid ingredients in peach cobbler

In the same bowl, sift in one cup of flour (as mentioned earlier, I used 1/2 cup of whole wheat and 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour), 2 teaspoons of baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Whisk everything together to make a smooth batter, then pour the batter into your oiled casserole dish.

Peach cobbler batter ready to pour

Distribute your peach slices uniformly over the top of the batter. If you want a fruitier cobbler, you might even consider adding a few peach slices from a second can. Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar evenly over the top of the mixture for a little extra sweetness. Doesn’t this already look good enough to eat? (Don’t eat it yet, though, raw flour and eggs can make you sick!)

Peaches in batter, ready to bake

Your oven should be warmed up now, so put the dish in and bake it for 45 minutes, then check on it and keep baking until the top is brown. It shouldn’t take more than 55 minutes. My dish was ready (and even a little burnt on the edge) after exactly 45 minutes. While it cooks, the batter rises up and forms a delectable crust around the peaches. Mine turned out a very rich, dark brown, but if you use white flour and white sugar it will be a lighter brown than this.

Fully-baked peach cobbler

You should serve the cobbler right out of the oven if possible, while it is still piping hot, but you can also put leftovers in the refrigerator and warm it up in the microwave the next day. A scoop of ice cream on top of each serving creates just the right frisson of creamy cold against the warm fruit and pastry. Sadly, I had no ice cream in the house, but it is also delicious just by itself.

Would You Like to Know More?

This is only one of many government recipes for peach cobbler. Here are a few more:

  • Texas Peaches: This tiny recipe card is available in the Texas Documents collection in Eagle Commons Library under call number TxD A900.7 P313 80-5. The card also has recipes for “Fresh Peach Cocktail” (really more of a smoothie) and “Peachy Pecan Bread.”
  • Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler: This is in a collection of Dutch oven recipes on the Texas Highways Web site. Baked in a portable Dutch oven with live coals on the lid, this is probably as close as you are going to get to preparing your cobbler in the way it was made by the early pioneers who invented this dish. Well, except for the part that calls for a 6-lb., 10-oz. can of peaches in light syrup. Still, how many recipes have you come across where the “baking time varies according to the amount of wind”? This is also one of those recipes with a recipe-within-the-recipe. In this case, it’s a recipe for a “Vinegar Pie Crust,” and you can use the crust for your peach cobbler as well as for making pies.
  • Peach Cobbler: USDA Recipe for Schools: If you have a crowd on your hands, this USDA recipe for school cafeterias makes 50 or 100 servings.


Article by Bobby Griffith.

Process photos taken by Bobby Griffith.

Teach Yourself about Texas with this Trio of Informational Treasures

Posted by & filed under Data about Databases, Get Help, Inside the ECL.

The state of Texas has a rich, sometimes controversial, but always fascinating history, a variegated geography, and a multifaceted culture that brings together many traditions and experiences. Here are some of the most valuable and easily-accessible resources for learning about our state.


The Portal to Texas History

Portal to Texas History logo

The Portal to Texas History is a collaborative program that provides students, teachers, researchers, and lifelong learners with free online access to a plethora of rare, historical, and primary source materials held by participating libraries, museums, archives, historical societies, and private collections throughout the state of Texas. Ceaselessly growing, the Portal contains well over thirteen and a half million digital files and receives close to one and a half million hits every month.

Here you can find digital reproductions of every kind of historical treasure: not just books and other documents, but also photographs, maps, letters, newspapers, and miscellaneous realia such as Texas trade tokens.

Within the Portal, the Texas Digital Newspaper Program (TDNP) provides free access to a wide variety of Texas newspapers, some of which date back to the early nineteenth century. This resource has proved invaluable to researchers, librarians, teachers, students, genealogists, and history buffs.

The Portal’s Resources4 Educators pages provide lesson plans and other educational materials that comply with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards established by the State Board of Education. Many items from the Portal that are especially relevant to students and classroom teachers are highlighted here.


The Handbook of Texas

The New Handbook of Texas

This multidisciplinary encyclopedia, published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), is the most comprehensive and authoritative single-stop source of information on Texas history, geography, and culture. You will find the entire history of Texas contained here, from the prehistoric era to the modern age, woven together in a compelling drama about our state’s diverse population and the roles Texans have played on the state, national, and world stages.

In its earliest form, The Handbook of Texas was a two-volume encyclopedia developed over twelve years and published in 1952. Conceived by the eminent historian and TSHA president Walter Prescott Webb, it was a joint project of the TSHA and the history department at The University of Texas, where Webb was also a faculty member. The primary responsibility for directing and editing was assigned to H. Bailey Carroll, who was the associate director of TSHA and also a faculty member at The University of Texas. A third, supplementary volume was added during the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976.

The New Handbook of Texas was published in 1996 after thirteen years of preparation. Representing the combined labor of over 3000 authors, editors, and reviewers, its six massive volumes contain well over 23,000 articles, including detailed histories of every county and all the major cities in Texas and over 7000 biographies of famous and lesser-known Texans. Of particular value is the large amount of information on the African-American and Mexican-American communities in Texas and on the contributions of women and women’s organizations to Texas history and culture.

The Handbook of Texas Online went live on the Internet in 1999. It contained the complete text of the print edition of The New Handbook of Texas, with all the corrections that had been incorporated into the Handbook‘s second printing, plus about 400 articles that had not been included in the print edition because of space limitations. The Handbook of Texas Online contains over 27,000 articles and continues to receive updates as new information becomes available. Each article includes a bibliography of sources and a full citation to the article in Chicago style.


Texas Almanac

Texas Almanac

From its first edition, published by The Galveston News in 1857, to its current incarnation, the Texas Almanac has evolved from a series of pamphlets published once a year and focusing on Texas history and the workings of state government to an invaluable quick-reference tool, published in paper and online by the Texas State Historical Association and containing a wealth of data on resources, industries, commerce, history, government, population, and other subjects relating to the political, civic, and economic development of Texas.

An archive of Texas Almanacs from 1857 to 2005 is available to the public online and free of charge, courtesy of the Portal to Texas History.

Issues of the Texas Almanac from 2010 to the present are available online through a subscription service or at various public and college libraries, including the University of North Texas Libraries.

Paper copies are also available at various public and college libraries, although the specific holdings will vary by institution, and a library’s set of paper copies may have several gaps.

The title has varied somewhat over the years, making this resource rather tricky to look up in a library’s catalog, since it may be spread over several records:


Would You Like to Know More?

Contact the UNT Eagle Commons Library in Sycamore Hall if you would like more information about how to use the paper copies or the online versions of these invaluable Texas informational resources.



Article by Bobby Griffith.

Enjoy a UNT Tradition on National Coffee Cake Day

Posted by & filed under Is That a Document?, Local Doings, Recipes, Special Days.

Union Coffee Cake

Mark your calendar and raid your pantry, because April 7th is National Coffee Cake Day. For those of us sheltering at home and feeling a little nostalgic for our days on campus, baking up this 8×8-inch cake is the perfect nod to our UNT culture and an excellent accompaniment to our next virtual coffee break.

Mention coffee cake on campus today, and most students will picture the confections sold at Starbucks locations. However, if you search back issues of The North Texan alumni magazine—or even Pinterest—you can find a copy of a coffee cake recipe that brings waves of nostalgia for UNT alumni going as far back as the 1950s.

A Little History

In 1952, the first permanent Union Building at North Texas State College—as UNT was then known—was only three years old. It was called the Student Memorial Union Building, named in honor of the North Texas students who had given their lives in World War II. The cafeteria was not making a profit, as had been hoped, and so the campus foods director, Sadie Mae Bass, decided, along with her staff, to shut the cafeteria down.

Memorial Union Building Cafeteria

The facility was offered to the Institution Management classes to use as a laboratory. Because they wanted to keep it open for morning and afternoon coffee service, someone came up with the brilliant idea of selling some sort of coffee cake or hot bread to serve with the coffee and help with the expenses. Students in Marguerite Ross Armstrong’s home economics classes obtained a plain coffee cake recipe from Albertine Balsmeier, the dormitory dietician, and baked that as well as a dark, fruit-filled cake called bishop’s bread. The bishop’s bread has been lost in the corridors of time, but the UB [Union Building] Coffee Cake, as it was christened, was an instant hit and remained popular for over half a century. At one time it was even suggested that you could snag a husband just by implying that “you have the recipe for UB coffee cake and make a better coffee.” In the beginning the student bakers produced as many as twelve large cakes a day, but eventually they scaled back in order to diversify the menu with donuts and other pastries.

The Recipe

You can read the story and the original recipe in the June 1971 issue of The North Texan. The recipe was very slightly modified over time, and some bakers added their own personal embellishments. Here is the latest version of the complete recipe, as reprinted in the Spring 2004 issue of the The North Texan:

Recipe for UNT Union Coffee Cake

We mixed up this treat to try for ourselves and to imagine the days of UNT gone by.

The cake ingredients are fairly simple, and it would be easy to make a vegan version by finding an egg substitute.

Batter for UNT Union coffee cake

The latest version of the recipe does not list a specific baking time, but it does say if overbaked, the topping will crack when cut. (In our experiment, we found this to be true!) We recommend starting with around 20 minutes and then checking every few minutes afterwards to find the ideal bake time. Interestingly, the earlier version of the recipe recommends baking the cake for 40 minutes. Perhaps someone found this timing unreliable and decided to leave it to the cook to determine when the cake is ready.

Yet in spite of our cracked topping, we still found this to be a delicious accompaniment to a steamy cup of coffee for a mid-morning snack. The topping is a different take on a streusel topping—easy and tasty, but with the same cinnamon and butter flavor. It was an easy and satisfying treat baked as is, although we wouldn’t say no to the addition of a ribbon of cinnamon in the middle of each piece. Baker Harold Wren, who was responsible for baking the Union Coffee Cakes in the early 1970s, would create a marbling effect by mixing some of the topping into the batter before brushing butter over the dough and adding the rest of the topping. Yum!

Popular at School, but Perfect for Home

Since it makes a small cake, this recipe is perfect for current events such as self-isolating and sheltering at home. We hope that you, like Jane Austen, are enjoying the comforts of home during these strange and disorienting times.

However, since this is a simple recipe, we are confident you will quickly learn to bake the perfect Union Coffee Cake, and when we gather together again, you will have your friends swooning over your results.

Would You Like to Know More?

For more nostalgic recipes and baking tips see: Homemade Bread, Cake, and Pastry, a Farmers’ Bulletin from 1940.

For more UNT nostalgia, view past issues of the UNT yearbooks and newspapers via The Portal to Texas History.

Article and coffee cake photos by Erica Kaufman.

Photo of the Student Memorial Union Building from the UNT Digital Library.

Get Creative with Poetry

Posted by & filed under Special Days.

The month of April is National Poetry Month, and what better time than now to hop into this particular art form? There are tons of different types of poetry to learn and read, and the time is ripe to fall in love with it.

National Poetry Month was first introduced in 1996 as a way to increase people’s awareness and their appreciation of poetry in all its forms. It was founded by the Academy of American Poets and is still run by them to this day. Over the years the month has grown into quite the event. There have been postage stamps made about and for it, posters, and all kinds of other materials. Poem a Day, hosted on poets.org, sprung up out of National Poetry Month. They also provide lesson plans, and have created opportunities through the Dear Poet Project for students to read poetry aloud and have it featured on the website.

The month celebrates enjoying poems all kinds of different ways. It pushes the reading and writing of poetry, and sharing it with friends and family. In celebration of all that, the staff and student assistants at ECL have come together to share some of their poetry in a number of different forms! We hope that you’ll find some enjoyment out of our works, and if you would like to get in on the fun, leave a comment with your own poetry written this month!

Staff and Student Assistant Poetry

Alone and Together-

Quiet of my house

It haunts my soul and my heart

The nothing loves me

The comfort of noise

The walls separate us now

Yet we aren’t alone

Quiet of my house

A melody of its own

Sung by the unseen

– Julsaint Sisters

Through the maze I browse

Books and lighted nooks and stairs

Yellow submarine

– Betty Monterroso

Bands of light across the plate:

through the wires

paper to bytes to digest

– Peter Kaiser

Students rapt in thought:

Only the chewing of ice

Disturbs their silence

Ants are on the march

Invading student spaces.

Who’s grass is greener?

– Bobby Griffith

The Quiet Library

A haven from the hurly-burly,

The Eagle Commons feels like home

To refugees from Willis. Surely

A haven from the hurly-burly

Beckons them over. Prematurely

Wearied by chatter, here they roam

A haven from the hurly-burly.

The Eagle Commons feels like home!

– Bobby Griffith

– Erica Kaufman

– Matina Newsom

Digital Resources and Inspiration

In addition to the poetry we’ve shared, below the poetry you’ll find a number of UNT Library and National Poetry Month resources listed to help you learn more about poetry, discover some new collections, and find other ways to celebrate this month!

Poetry Collections

LGBTQ fiction and poetry from Appalachia Edited by Jeff Mann & Julia Watts

Modern Sudanese poetry: an anthology Translated and edited by Adil Babikir

Wholesome Whole Poetry by J. Eileen

She’s not into poetry: mini-comics 1991-1996 by Tom Hart

Twentieth-century Russian poetry: reinventing the canon Edited by Katharine Hodgson, Joanne Shelton and Aexandra Smith

The complete poetry of Aime Cesaire Translated by A. James Arnold and Clayton Eshleman

John Donne and contemporary poetry: essays and poems Judith Scherer Herz, editor

The poetry of Weldon Kees: vanishing as presence John T. Irwin

About Poetry

Poetry: a very short introduction By Bernard O’Donoghue

Poetry: the basics By Jeffrey Wainwright

Pitch of poetry By Charles Bernstein

Using poetry to promote talking and healing By Pooky Knightsmith

Poetry and theology in the modernist period By Anthony Domestico

Basics of Hebrew poetry: theory and practice By Samuel T. S. Goh; foreword by Tremper Longman III

Poetry in Government Documents

Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature: a checklist- Library of Congress — General Reference and Bibliography Division

Poetry’s “catbird seat” at 60: a celebration of the 60th anniversary of the consultants in poetry in the and the poets laureate: a reading in the great hall of the Library of Congress– Library of Congress — Poetry Office

The imagination in the modern world Three lectures presented under the auspices of the Gertrude Clarke Whittall Poetry and Literature Fund by Stephen Spender

The battle line of democracy: prose and poetry of the world war, Published by the Committee on Public Information, George Creel, chairman United States — Committee on Public Information, Franklin K. Lane, and Guy Stanton

100 love sonnets = cien sonetos de amor By Pablo Neruda; translated by Stephen Tapscott

Sixty American poets, 1896-1944 Selected by Allen Tate

Other Resources

20th Century American Poetry

20th Century English Poetry

Poetry in America video Series

30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month From Home

Poems Hosted by National Poetry Month

Poem A Day

It’s Census Day — April 1, 2020!

Posted by & filed under Make a Difference, Special Days.

census2020 logo Today, April 1, 2020, is Census Day the day when everyone in the U.S. gets counted. The requirement for a regular count of the U.S. population is codified in Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. Census Day, which comes once every 10 years, is the day the U.S. government counts all current residents. The decennial census, the full count that occurs every 10 years, is important as it is used to allot the number of representatives each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives. The count is also used to allocate the distribution of federal funding programs such as the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Supplemental Nutrition, and Head Start among others. This year is the first year the Census questionnaire can be completed online or by phone in addition to the traditional paper method. Every household should have received a mailer with their personal Census ID. Helpful information on how to respond as well as a sample questionnaire can be found at 2020census.gov. To help in celebrating Census Day 2020, here is a song, “Everyone Counts”:https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/sis/2020census/2020-resources/pre-k/everyone-counts-song.html. However, the best way to celebrate is by completing your Census questionnaire to help achieve a 100% response rate and be counted for our local communities.

From MyPlate to Your Plate: Nutrition Guidelines and Recipes from the USDA

Posted by & filed under Data about Databases, Get Help, Is That a Document?, Recipes, Special Days.

MyPlate icon

100 Years of Nutrition Guidelines

For over a century the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been trying numerous strategies, charts, and diagrams to teach Americans how to maintain a healthy diet. In response to scientific discoveries about human nutrition, changing patterns in food consumption and physical activity, and political pressure from food industry lobbyists, adults and schoolchildren may have seen, depending on which generation they belong to, such guides as the Basic Seven food groups, the Four Food Groups, the Food Wheel, or the Food Guide Pyramid.

Since 2011, the reigning food guide icon has been MyPlate. It is a device to help visualize the correct proportions of servings in a balanced diet. Explanations of MyPlate are also available in other languages, and if you avoid animal products, MyVeganPlate adapts the MyPlate guidelines for vegans.

A Brief History of USDA Food Guides provides a quick overview of this historical development; for a more detailed account of how the USDA dietary guidelines have evolved, see Dietary Recommendations and How They Have Changed Over Time. The National Agricultural Libraries’ Historical Dietary Guidance Digital Collection provides access to over 1200 historical documents that have been created to educate the public about nutrition over the years.

Recipes

Step into the MyPlate Kitchen and you’ll find a cornucopia filled with hundreds of recipes, USDA cookbooks, webinars and cooking videos, and other recipe resources to make healthy eating easy and delicious. You can even build your own cookbook!

Staying Healthy on a Budget

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to create nutritious meals. Healthy Eating on a Budget provides tips for getting the most for your dollar when you shop for groceries. Here you can find menus, recipes, budgeting advice, and more.

If you rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to help pay for your food, you can find SNAP Recipes specifically tailored to your culinary requirements.

Think Globally, Buy Locally

Are you a locavore? Purchasing locally-grown foods is good for the environment and the economy, and it keeps you in touch with your community. Foods that don’t spend a lot of time traveling to your door also taste better. MyPlate, My State shows you what foods your state or territory is known for. Celebrate your home town and local traditions while eating the freshest, most nutritious food available.

Don’t Be Fooled

The Internet and other media are filled with hucksters and self-appointed experts spreading misinformation to lead you astray. Check out USDA’s Fraud and Misinformation page to learn how to spot suspicious health claims and investigate food and nutrition myths. This page includes resources specific to weight loss diets and products.

Nutrition Around the World

Americans aren’t the only ones concerned about their nutrition. The article “A Global Review of Food-Based Dietary Guidelines,” published in the international journal Advances in Nutrition, assesses the similarities and differences in dietary guidelines promulgated by the governments of various countries around the world.

Article by Bobby Griffith.

MyPlate icon courtesy of USDA.

Live Long and Prosper, It’s Leonard Nimoy’s Birthday

Posted by & filed under Is That a Document?, Special Days, Toys R U.S..

Terry Virts making Vulcan hand salute

Live Long and Prosper Day has been celebrated on Leonard Nimoy‘s birthday every year since 2017, when it was created by artist Matt McCarthy as a project for Make Up Your Own Holiday Day, also celebrated on March 26. It is a day to contemplate the Vulcan blessing and consider how it might apply to your own life. We would like to take this opportunity to share with you a few U.S. government publications that are related to Mr. Nimoy or to the Star Trek television and movie series, demonstrating how deeply embedded they have become in our American culture and consciousness.

NASA

Because of their common theme of space exploration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has had perhaps the most intimate connection with Star Trek of any government agency. NASA even has a section of its Web site dedicated to the relationship between NASA and Star Trek and, on the 50th anniversary of the show’s final episode, published an article detailing 50 Years of NASA and Star Trek Connections.

The first NASA space shuttle was called the Enterprise, named after the Star Fleet’s most famous ship in response to a letter-writing campaign from fans of the television show. The Star Trek cast and crew even visited NASA’s Dryden (now Armstrong) Research Center for a photo opportunity when the Enterprise was rolled out.

Many Americans have been inspired to become astronauts after watching the Star Trek, and some astronauts have even made guest appearances on the show. The casting of African-American actress Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Uhura broadcast a powerful message about the position of minorities and women during the height of the civil rights movement; Nichols even actively recruited a diverse crew of new astronauts in real life, including Guion Bluford (the first African-American astronaut), Sally Ride (the first female American astronaut), Judith Resnik (one of the first class of female astronauts, who perished during the launch of the Challenger on January 28, 1986), and Ronald McNair (the second African-American astronaut, and another victim of the Challenger accident). Mae Jemison was inspired to become the first African-American woman in space, and later Jemison became the first real astronaut to appear in a role on Star Trek when she played Lt. Palmer in 1993.

In his article The Science of Star Trek, NASA scientist David Allen Batchelor explores various features of Star Trek according to how scientifically accurate or inaccurate they are, and comments upon whether various of the show’s inventions are feasible or, in some cases, have already been achieved.

Library of Congress

Wonderful Inventions: Motion Pictures, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound at the Library of Congress is an anthology of essays providing a taste of the varied holdings in the Library of Congress related to movies, television shows, radio programs, and recordings of music and the spoken word. The entire book is full of fascinating anecdotes and trenchant technical analyses, but one essay in particular is essential reading for Star Trek fans: Music for Star Trek: Scoring a Television Show in the Sixties is a first-hand account of how the soundtrack music was created for the three seasons of the original Star Trek series. Written by Fred Steiner, one of the eight composers who worked on a total of thirty episodes, the essay provides not only a detailed, insider’s account of how the music for each episode was composed, it also gives a lucid account of the complex process of scoring a typical television show in the 1960s. The essay is enhanced with photographic stills from the show and excerpts from the scores themselves, including a facsimile of the famous main title fanfare and theme composed by Alexander Courage.

Speaking of the main title, did you know that the music has lyrics? According to a blog post by Reference Specialist Paul Sommerfeld, producer Gene Roddenberry was concerned that the show would not be financially successful, so he wrote words under Courage’s melody and submitted this version of the score to the Copyright Office, listing himself as lyricist. This bit of legal subterfuge guaranteed that he would collect 50 percent of the proceeds every time the them song was performed in public, even if the words were not sung, but it also guaranteed that the composer would be bilked out of half of his earnings.

Smithsonian Institution

In May 2016, the Smithsonian Institution‘s Smithsonian Magazine celebrated the 50th anniversary of the debut of Star Trek with An Oral History of Star Trek, exploring the richness and persistent appeal of the television series in a collection of interviews excerpted from the book The Fifty-Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek: The First 25 Years, by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman. After this article came out, a second volume of the book was published, entitled The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years: From The Next Generation to J. J. Abrams: The Complete, Uncensored, and Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek.

Here are a few examples of Star Trek–themed realia owned by the Smithsonian:

Congress

Immediately following the beloved actor’s death on February 27, 2015, there were many tributes and reminiscences shared by those who were inspired by his achievements both on and off the television and movie screen. U.S. Representative Adam B. Schiff submitted his personal Tribute to Leonard Nimoy to the Extensions of Remarks section of the March 2, 2015 Congressional Record.

On another occasion, Star Trek co-star William Shatner testified before Congress about the tinnitus he suffered after a “routine explosion” on the Star Trek set damaged his hearing. Shatner mentioned in his testimony that Nimoy was on the opposite side of the explosion and was also adversely affected by it.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Like so many Americans, Leonard Nimoy started smoking as a teenager because he thought is was “cool,” then he became addicted. He eventually gave up smoking when his first grandchild was born, but by then his lungs were permanently damaged, and eventually he passed away from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). His family arranged for Leonard’s story to be told online through the CDC’s Tips From Former Smokers® campaign.

We hope you have enjoyed these stories about Leonard Nimoy and Star Trek, and we invite you to celebrate the day by sharing your own plans, reminiscences, or experiences. How has your own life been affected by Star Trek?

Article by Bobby Griffith

Image is of International Space Station astronaut Terry Virts (@AstroTerry) flashing a Vulcan hand salute from orbit as a tribute to Leonard Nimoy shortly after the actor died on Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. Cape Cod and Boston, Massachusetts, Nimoy’s home town, are visible through the station window. Image Credit: NASA

The Taxman Cometh

Posted by & filed under Get Help, Local Doings, Make a Difference, Special Days.

The office of the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue was established in 1862, and in 1913 a personal income tax was authorized by the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The mission of the Internal Revenue Service, according to the U.S. Government Manual, is to collect “the proper amount of tax revenue, at the least cost to the public, by efficiently applying the tax law with integrity and fairness.”

Jean-Baptiste Colbert, minister of finances under King Louis XIV of France and a grand master in the art of revenue enhancement, put things a little more bluntly (the statement may have actually been made by his mentor, Cardinal Mazarin):

“The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing.”

We can’t guarantee that you won’t feel like a plucked goose when you file your tax return this season, but here are a few suggestions on your options for filing and for obtaining assistance in undertaking this annual onus:

Filing Electronically

Almost 90 percent of taxpayers now opt for the convenience and speediness of filing their tax returns electronically.

Free File

If you are one of the 73 percent of Americans who made $69,000 or less last year, you are eligible to access brand-name tax preparation software or fillable online forms through the IRS Free File service to prepare and file your federal tax return online for free. Even if you made more than that, you are still allowed to use the fillable, electronic versions of the forms.

Tax Preparation Software

A number of commercial software programs are available for purchase to help you prepare your tax return and file it electronically. The IRS does not endorse or approve any of these companies, but if you’re not sure which one to use you can find reviews of the seven best tax software programs of 2020 at The Balance, a personal finance website.

Commercial Tax Preparers

You can pay a tax preparer in your local community to prepare and/or file your taxes online for you. They’re not always identifiable by Uncle Sam or the Statue of Liberty waving in front of the building, but you can enter your ZIP Code in the IRS Authorized IRS e-file Provider Locator to get a list of the nearest commercial tax preparers in your location who are authorized to file your taxes electronically.

Filing by Mail

Do you prefer the old-fashioned paper tax forms? You can still use them! Tax forms, instructions, and publications can be ordered online at the IRS Forms and Publications by U.S. Mail page, or ordered over the telephone by calling 1-800-829-3676.

For direct access to U.S. federal tax forms and publications, visit the IRS Forms, Instructions, and Publications page. At this site, you can scroll through a list of current IRS publications, select the document you need, and print it. You can also obtain forms and instructions for prior years, and there are some accessible forms and publications to accommodate people who use assistive technology or require accessible formats such as braille or large print.

The IRS website has instructions on where to file paper tax returns once they are filled out.

Need Help Filing?

Please don’t ask librarians tax law questions—they’re not tax law specialists. Instead, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 for answers to your tax questions. The following programs also provide free assistance with filling out and filing U.S. income tax forms:

Please note that many resources for obtaining in-person tax assistance may have been suspended because of the coronavirus emergency. Go to the IRS Coronavirus Tax Relief webpage to find the latest updates about IRS services. The filing deadline has been extended to July 15.

VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance)

The IRS VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Program offers free tax help to people who earn less than $52,000. IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals in local communities. They can inform taxpayers about special tax credits for which they may qualify, such as Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child Tax Credit, and Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled. VITA sites are usually located at community and neighborhood centers, libraries, schools, shopping malls, and other convenient locations.

Denton County residents who qualify can get tax help from United Way’s VITA members at selected times and locations during the weeks before April 15 to help them fill out their forms and answer tax related questions. Be sure to bring the materials listed on the United Way VITA page.

TCE (Tax Counseling for the Elderly)

The Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) Program offers free tax help to taxpayers who are 60 and older and specializes in questions about pensions and retirement issues unique to seniors. Most of the TCE sites are operated by the AARP Foundation’s Tax Aide Program. To locate the nearest TCE site or AARP Tax-Aide site and to find out if you qualify, use the AARP Site Locator Tool or call 888-227-7669 from January to April. During other months, call 1-800-829-1040 to find the VITA/TCE location and hours nearest your home.

MilTax: Tax Services for the Military

MilTax is a free tax service from Military OneSource and the Department of Defense that provides free tax preparation, free e-filing, and personalized support to address the special circumstances of military life. To help members of the Armed Forces make wise tax decisions, the IRS has prepared a compilation of Tax Information for Members of the Military. Military tax programs are overseen by the Armed Forces Tax Council, which consists of tax program coordinators for the Marine Corps, Air Force, Army, Navy, and Coast Guard.

Self-Help Tax Preparation

If you have a simple tax return and just need a little help or don’t have access to a computer, you can visit one of the participating VITA/TCE tax preparation sites, and an IRS-certified volunteer will guide you through the process.

Become a Volunteer and Make a Difference!

You can receive training in tax preparation and make a difference in your community by volunteering with the VITA or TCE programs. If you’re interested, send your contact information using the VITA/TCE Volunteer Sign Up form, and be sure to indicate the city and state where you would like to volunteer. Your information will be forwarded to the sponsoring organizations in your area for further contact.

TAS (Taxpayer Advocate Service)

The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an independent organization within the IRS that helps taxpayers resolve problems with the IRS and recommends changes that will prevent the problems in the future. If you’ve had problems with the IRS that you haven’t been able to get resolved, the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TSE) may be able to help. Qualifying taxpayers who request assistance receive personalized service from a knowledgeable taxpayer advocate who will listen to their problems, help them understand what needs to be done to resolve the problems, and stay with them every step of the way until those problems are resolved.

Contacting a TAS Advocate

You can find the address and phone number for your local Taxpayer Advocate Service office on the TAS Web site. Other ways to reach a TSE advocate:

  • Call the TSE toll-free line at 1-877-777-4778
  • Fill out Form 911, Request for Taxpayer Advocate Assistance, which is available by phone at 1-800-829-3676, or online at www.irs.gov
  • Ask an IRS employee (in person or over the phone) to complete the form for you
National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) Reports to Congress

The leader of TAS, the National Taxpayer Advocate, submits two Reports to Congress each year.

  • The Annual Report, delivered each January, summarizes the 20 most serious problems encountered by taxpayers during the previous year, makes legislative and administrative recommendations for resolving those problems, and examines that year’s most frequently litigated issues.
  • The Objectives Report identifies the priority issues TAS will focus on during the upcoming fiscal year.
Tax Reform Suggestion Box

To further a dialogue about tax reform, TAS has established a Tax Reform Suggestion Box to receive taxpayers’ suggestions for tax reform. Take this opportunity to let your voice be heard! You can also read some suggestions that other taxpayers have made.

And finally, here’s one last bit of tax advice from an unnamed IRS Auditor (quoted in the April 2005 issue of The Reader’s Digest):

“The trick is to stop thinking of it as your money.”

Article by Bobby Griffith

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