News about the swine flu outbreak is everywhere. The Cornell Student Health Service recently posted a statement about the situation and suggested ways to keep healthy. There is also a link for the Center for Disease Control to keep track of the latest developments on the outbreak by subscribing to RSS feeds, e-mail updates, and Twitter.

Cole Library offers additional ways to keep up with this situation, investigate the history of epidemics and plagues, learn about efforts to find vaccines, etc. Click here to reach the library page for access to these databases:
•    Cole Library Online Catalog – find books in Cole Library using terms such as epidemiology, plagues, infectious diseases, communicable diseases.
•    Credo Reference – an online source which provides full-text access to more than 300 reference books, as well as audio and video clips, images, and maps.  Provides good definitions as a basis for further understanding.
•    Electronic Resources – check  databases such as *Academic Search Premier, CINAHL with Full Text, *Health Source Consumer Ed, Health Source Nursing/Academic Ed. for articles on research on swine flu and other diseases. Or, check out Newsbank & *Newspaper Source which offer access to regional and national newspaper articles. (Starred items are available off-campus to Mount Vernon library card holders.)

If you encounter difficulty, call a reference librarian at 895-4122 for assistance.

It’s National Library Week, a time to celebrate the contributions of libraries, librarians and library workers in schools, campuses and communities nationwide.

Everyday, libraries in big cities and small towns, colleges and universities, in schools and in businesses help transform their communities. In libraries across the country, people of all backgrounds come together for community meetings, lectures and programs, to do research with the assistance of a trained professional, to get help finding a job or to find homework help.

First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April.

Most of us are eager for spring weather with warmer temperatures and sunshine. Spring weather also may bring severe weather in the form of thunderstorms and tornadoes. This is Severe Weather Awareness Week.  Iowans are reminded to be prepared by learning the warning signals used in your town, having an emergency plan, and assembling an emergency supply kit. For more information go to Be Ready Iowa and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration site.