Online Health Research

What’s New in MedlinePlus
November 2nd, 2009
By Rebecca Brown, University of Kansas Medical Center

MedlinePlus (www.medlineplus.gov), the authoritative online consumer health resource from the National Library of Medicine, has many great new features to help you locate appropriate materials that meet the unique needs of your community. The site, which debuted in 1998 with 22 health topics, now boasts over 800 topics and many new enhancements.

Invisible China: A Journey Through Ethnic Borderlands

Invisible China: A Journey Through Ethnic Borderlands
by Colin Legerton and Jacob Rawson
Chicago Review Press, 2009
Product ID: 281250



Hailed as a “spectacular achievement” by Publishers Weekly

In this eloquent and eye-opening adventure narrative, authors Colin Legerton and Jacob Rawson, two Americans fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Korean, and Uyghur, throw away the guidebook and bring a hitherto unexplored side of China to light.

They journey over 14,000 miles by bus and train to the farthest reaches of China to meet the minority peoples who dwell there, talking to farmers in their fields, monks in their monasteries, fishermen on their skiffs, and herders on the steppe. As they uncover surprising facts about China’s hidden minorities and their complex position in Chinese society, they discover the social ramifications of inconsistent government policies--and some deep human truths as well.

Invisible China will be provided with free, unlimited access to Butler from November 1-30, 2009.

Worst Opening Sentence... 2009 edition

David McKenzie of Federal Way, Wash., won the grand prize in the 2009 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest by penning what the judges considered the worst opening sentence for an imaginary novel. His dubious gem: "Folks say that if you listen real close at the height of the full moon, when the wind is blowin' off Nantucket Sound from the nor' east and the dogs are howlin' for no earthly reason, you can hear the awful screams of the crew of the 'Ellie May,' a sturdy whaler Captained by John McTavish; for it was on just such a night when the rum was flowin' and, Davey Jones be damned, big John brought his men on deck for the first of several screaming contests."

(From 10-28-09 Shelf Awareness report.)

There's plenty of others on the contest site. It takes work to create these!

Troll's Eye View

The newest collection of Fairy Tale rewrites from Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, Troll's Eye View: A Book of Villainous Tales, comes to you highly recommended by me!

This book was great not only because of the viewpoint--some were arguably more villainous than others--but because each author had a page or a few paragraphs to say why they picked the story they wrote about, what drew them to the characters and fairy tales in general. It was like an interview sampling of a bunch of my favorite authors talking about my favorite type of story.

Sheet Music on the web

IN Harmony: Sheet Music from Indiana
http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/inharmony/welcome.do

People in Indiana know a fair bit about four-part harmony. For that matter, they know about all types of harmony, and this digital collection pays homage to their musical traditions. The IN Harmony Sheet Music collection was created as part of a partnership between the Indiana State Library, the University Lilly Library, the Indiana Historical Society, and the Indiana State Museum. The sheet music here includes music from 1800 to 1989, and visitors can browse these materials by name, title, year, instrumentation, genre, or subject. Browsing by subject is quite enjoyable, and some of the more curious topics include "Aging", "American Bison", "Sausages", and "Vice-Presidents". In addition, visitors can use the graphical interface on the homepage to pick out potential musical gems by their cover art. [KMG]

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2009. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Homework Kansas

HomeworkKansas is an after school tutoring service that connects Kansas students one-on-one with live tutors.

It is targeted at students in Kindergarten through 12th grades, college introductory students, adult GED students, and other adult learners.

Click here to connect to Homework Kansas

Students can connect to tutors from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., seven days a week. HomeworkKansas is also available in Spanish everyday from 1:00 p.m. to 11 p.m.. Help is available in the following subjects:

Math: elementary, algebra I, algebra II, geometry, trigonometry and calculus
Science: elementary, earth science, biology, chemistry, physics
Social studies: American History, World History, Political Science and more
English: spelling, grammar, book reports, essay writing and more
If you are unable to access HomeworkKansas through the link above, you might need a Kansas Library Card which is available at local public and school libraries. For more information about HomeworkKansas please contact the State Library of Kansas between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m Monday - Friday. You can send emails to egivens@kslib.info or call (785) 296-8152.

New to the service are college entrance practice tests like ACT and SAT, graduate school exams like GRE and LSAT, Advance Placement, ASVAB and TOEFL, and GED prep tests. HomeworkKansas will also offer assistance with job searches, sample resumes and cover letters, financial literacy and assistance with proofreading papers.

5186A

...just cries out to be a library place.