Library of Congress on YouTube, iTunes & Flickr.

YouTube and iTunes launches groundbreaking Flickr pact to bring more treasures to the public.
The Library of Congress will begin sharing content from its vast video and audio collections on the YouTube and Apple iTunes web services as part of a continuing initiative to make its incomparable treasures more widely accessible to a broad audience. The new Library of Congress channels on each of the popular services will launch within the next few weeks. Click on Blue Title above photo to see article.

New channels on the video and podcasting services will be devoted to Library content, including 100-year-old films from the Thomas Edison studio, book talks with contemporary authors, early industrial films from Westinghouse factories, first-person audio accounts of life in slavery, and inside looks into the Library's fascinating holdings, including the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence and the contents of Lincoln's pockets on the night of his assassination.

All content made available on third-party sites will also be available on the Library’s own website at www.loc.gov.

2009 Westview Writer's Festival

Area residents who are interested in the world of steam locomotives or love an exciting story with compelling characters or are a fan of historically accurate fiction will want to attend the upcoming Westview Writers' Festival this Tuesday, March 31, at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford.

Novelist Howard Bahr will read from his recent novel Pelican Road and from one of his acclaimed Civil War novels at the festival that starts at 7 p.m. in the SWOSU Conference Center, located the corner of Davis and Seventh Streets on the SWOSU campus. Admission is free.

Following Bahr's reading, there will be an open reading with cash prizes for the three prose works judged to be of the highest overall quality. The top prize will be $100, and two honorable mention prizes of $25 will also be awarded. The reading will be open to students, members of the community and faculty (other than Language and Literature faculty).

Legendary Biologist, Pulitzer Winner E.O. Wilson Addresses USAO March 26

Legendary biologist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Edward O. Wilson will be the featured speaker during the third annual Emerson-Wier Liberal Arts Symposium March 26 at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.

Wilson will address the public during a lecture at 7:30 p.m. in Te Ata Memorial Auditorium in Troutt Hall on the USAO campus. His presentation is The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth. He will also be a part of a panel discussion from 4-6 p.m. in the Davis Hall Amphitheater at USAO. Both events are free and open to the public.

A Harvard professor for 40 years, Wilson has written 20 books, won two Pulitzer Prizes and discovered hundreds of new species. He is considered by many as the father of the modern environmental movement.

Oklahoma Needs Your Help

Take a short public opinion survey and help Oklahoma. Click on the blue title above the photo and tell the Oklahoma Cultural Heritage Trust how they can promote the concept of Museum and Library services for the entire state. Survey is sponsored by the Oklahoma Department of Libraries, the Oklahoma Museums Association, and the Oklahoma Historical Records Advisory Board. Thank You.

Are We Ready To Send Men To Mars?

Click on the blue title above the photo to link to Librarian's Internet Index. Click on Astronomy (located under Science.) Take a look at the gold mine of interesting subjects available. If you click on Mars, the very first item is about the feasibility of landing astronauts on Mars and developing a space station there by 2015. It will be interesting to see if the United States has the money or inclination to follow through in these rough economic times.

Office of National Drug Control Policy Website

The photos (left) show a little cash and part of the 23 tons of narcotics seized in a 21 month investigation known as "Operation Xcellerator." More than 750 people were arrested in the United States and Mexico. The Mexican drug cartel was known as the Sinaloa Cartel. Click on the blue title above photos to access entire website. This is a very small portion of the information available. There are Factsheets and also a Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) which monitors trends in drug-related emergency department visits. I promise you will find something you didn't already know.