When Women Didn't Count

One of the many reasons free government information is useful is that it can be analyzed to reveal fascinating, and sometimes disturbing, facts about our history. An excellent example of this is Robert Lopresti's new book, When Women Didn't Count: The Chronic Mismeasure and Marginalization of American Women in Federal Statistics:

https://www.amazon.com/When-Women-Didnt-Count-Marginalization/dp/1440843686/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1498843453&sr=8-2&keywords=robert+lopresti

In the book, society's (and government's) changing attitudes toward women are chronicled through statistics on marriage, motherhood, heads of households, occupations, health, crime, and military service, among other topics. The focus isn't on the statistics themselves, but on how and why they were collected as they were. It is, indeed, both fascinating and disturbing. 

 (Lopresti is a librarian, but when he isn't examining the mysteries of government statistics he's writing popular mystery stories. You might want to check those out as well.)

United Nations Digital Library System

If you're getting a little tired of the issues being discussed in the U.S. Government, it might be a nice change of pace to explore some international issues.  The United Nations Digital Library System is now freely available for your searching or browsing pleasure.  Enjoy!

Http://digitallibrary.un.org

Obama Presidential Center

Before they've even broken ground on Barack Obama's Presidential Center, it's already groundbreaking in the world of Presidential Libraries. The three-building complex on Chicago's south side will include many interesting features, but it won't physically contain President Obama's papers and documents. Instead, according to this press release from the National Archives and Records Administration, his records will be digitized and made available online:

https://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2017/nr17-54
 
Those who wish to see the physical records will have to visit Washington, DC. Perhaps this new approach will increase tourism in both cities. Only time will tell.

Days of Remembrance

This week marks the annual Days of Remembrance in commemoration of the Holocaust. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum provides a great deal of information about this observance, including a map of events being held around the country. It also provides information for communities to use in planning their own Remembrance events:

https://www.ushmm.org/remember/days-of-remembrance

Those who tend to compare more recent atrocities to the Holocaust might wish to use this as an opportunity to review the basic facts and statistics.

Superbloom

April showers are traditionally supposed to bring May flowers, but in California, winter showers have resulted in a "superbloom" of spring flowers.  Read about the reasons for the spectacular display on this site from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

https://www.climate.gov/news-features/event-tracker/march-2017-climate-conditions-finally-right-superbloom-desert

The photos may leave you California dreaming.

De Quervain Tendinitis

People who do repetitive work with their hands may develop a number of different medical conditions. Some, like carpal tunnel syndrome, are fairly well known. Others, like De Quervain tendinitis are less so. You can read about the causes, symptoms, and treatments of De Quervain tendinitis in the National Library of Medicine's MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia:

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000537.htm

Beware, though. If you hold your phone or tablet while you browse the 4,000 articles available in the Encyclopedia, that's exactly the sort of thing that might cause De Quervain tendinitis.

Women's History Month

March is Women's History Month. One site that provides links to a treasure trove of information about historic American women is this page from the Archives Library Information Center at the National Archives:

https://www.archives.gov/research/alic/reference/womens-history.html

It's divided into sections which include: Bibliographies, African-American Women, Biographies, Politics and Women, Women's Suffrage, Women and the Military, and Other Resources. Explore a few of these links and you'll be certain that girls not only want to have fun, they also want to have a positive impact on the world.