100 Years of Oklahoma Governors

The Oklahoma Department of Libraries website has a new link to "100 Years of Oklahoma Governors." (Click on title above, then again look for "100 Years of Governor" on actual site, and click on Lasso ODL's round-up of the state's chief executives.) This site includes a photograph and brief biography of all of Oklahoma's governors. Pictured is "Alfalfa Bill" Murray (my favorite Governor) who served from January 12, 1931 until January 15, 1935.

He is known for helping feed the hungry during the Great Depression and donated his own salary for that purpose. He also married the neice of the Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, started a ranch in Bolivia, and called out the National Guard to reopen an Oklahoma constructed bridge on the Red River, which had been closed by the Governor of Texas. He also helped raise the price of oil to increase production and gain revenue for the state during a time when we really needed the money. Check out all of the great biographies on this website.

Buying or Selling a House in Oklahoma?

Most students, faculty or staff at SWOSU will purchase or sell a house at some point in their lives. If this occurs in Oklahoma, you may be interesting in an Oklahoma Document (R 500.5 U58p) entitled State of Oklahoma Uniform Contract Information Pamphlet. This 20 page jewel explains many legal terms in simple, easy to understand language. Terms include: contract, purchase price, earnest money, financing supplemental agreement, closing, funding, and possession, accessories, time periods, residential property condition disclosure act, investigations, inspections, and reviews, risk of loss, acceptance of property, title evidence, mediation, breach and failure to close.
Also listed are details about pitfalls of home buying - such as flood notice laws. For instance, the City of Tulsa makes it the buyers responsiblity to find out about floodng from storm run off, sewer backup or water history. A report may be purchased from the Corps of Eningeers by phone. Termite damage and inspections are also included, along with lead-paint disclosure. Megan's Law is an oklahoma law which requires sex offenders to register their address. Is the home you're looking at on the offender list? It would be a good idea to check these things out before purchasing a home. An hour of reading time might save you thousands of dollars in repair bills and a lot of headache later on.

Intellectual Property Rights

The Department of Justice has just published a new (2006) report about Intellectual Property in the United States (J 1.2: IN 8/11/2006 in Government Documents). This book explains: what intellectual property actually is and how laws in the United States protect the owners of intellectual property. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales is shown in the photo above with report. Click on the title above to link to online source.

Night Sky Atlas

If you are interested in astronomy, then you need to take a look at Night Sky Atlas: The Moon, Planets, Stars, and Deep Sky Objects ( Call #: 520 S278n). This colorful and practical atlas for binocular and small telescope observing was published by Firefly Press in 2005. Because it is a comprehensive atlas that is also simple to use, it is useful for the person just beginning to observe the night sky or for the more experienced observer. The constellation maps attempt to match as much as possible what a person actually sees in the sky. The maps, illustrations and accompanying text make this a worthwhile and enjoyable resource. Check it out at the Al Harris Library!

"Preventing Medication Errors"

"... on average a hospital patient is subject to at least one medication error per day ... " (p. 1) Medication errors harm 1.5 million people and kill several thousand each year in the United States, costing the nation at least $3.5 billion annually, the Institute of Medicine concluded in a report released July 20th. The IOM's report, "Preventing Medication Errors", details the costs of these errors and recommends strategies for preventing them. Read the report.

Old Ships

Government Documents just received a copy of Comet: submerged Cultural Resources Site Report, Channel Islands National Park. (I 29.143/2:17) It's an amazing story of how an old lumber schooner (named the Comet) came to be shipwrecked on a beach in Simonton Cove, San Miguel Island, Channel Islands National Park in 1911. This is an island off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. Click on the title above to access the United States Parks Service website of submerged cultural resources (shipwrecks).

Tuberculosis

TB is not something most Americans worry about, but it probably should be.
According to the Worldwide Health Sourcebook (R 362.1 W893), nearly 2 billion people have tuberculosis, or are carriers. This is one-third of all the people on earth. This number includes the 10 to 15 million people who have the disease in the United States.

According to the above source, TB is the world's leading cause of death from a single organism, killing more adults than AIDS and malaria combined. The bad news is that the disease is becoming more resistant to drugs. The good news is NIAID scientists are trying to isolate the complete sequence of the TB bacterium's genome.

Click on the title above to visit the World Health Organization website on TB.