Take a Ride Back in Time with Smithsonian

By Jennifer Albers-Smith

How great is Amazon Prime? While I appreciate the expedited shipping, far and above, my favorite thing about it is all the opportunities to watch full TV series, both new and old.

Sure, it’s no secret I’m a big fan of Downton Abbey or that I love period dramas. So when Amazon Prime recommended the BBC production Lark Rise to Candleford, I jumped on the opportunity to fall in love with a new show. The series features four seasons of absolute greatness, and I love it. It takes place in the late 1800s and follows the story of how a postmistress (yes, mistress, not master) takes the small town of Candleford by storm.

Read moreTake a Ride Back in Time with Smithsonian

In Other News: Ebola

A look at a current news item through the lens of different titles available on GVRL.

By Michelle Eickmeyer

Ebola. Just the word sounds scary. A surge in an extremely deadly, contagious virus, with no medical cure or approved treatment plan is killing hundreds of people in western Africa. Two American volunteers in the area are now suffering from the disease, raising new questions about the possibility and practicality of evacuation. With more than 700 deaths, the world is currently experiencing the largest Ebola outbreak on record.

Here are five titles that look at Ebola from different perspectives:

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When a Question Reveals a Collection

Ms. Valentine, do you have a book on the Greek alphabet?

Why, yes. Yes I do.

It’s Camp Read a lot time, and I can hear children at the picnic table, their voices raised to that particular shrillness that usually means an argument is about to boil over. There’s activity over at the fishing pond, too – but I don’t have a line of direct sight to the lines to see if anyone is swinging them…ah, no swinging yet. But I have, I estimate, about forty seconds to help you find a book on the Greek alphabet. After that, who knows what will happen with the fishing lines and the picnic argument.

You walk over to the foreign language collection in the 400s, perhaps the shelf I am prouder of than any other in this collection of 14,000 items. I built it from nothing, almost. We needed materials for our ESL students.

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The International Language of Ice Cream

By Anne Marie Houppert

Who likes ice cream?

According to over 100 years of National Geographic magazines, it seems everyone does!

The first reference in National Geographic magazine occurred in a February 1911 article on the building of the Panama Canal, which describes the Herculean task of provisioning an army of workers: “…plants were established and turn out each day about 90 tons of ice, 14,000 loaves of bread, 2,400 rolls, 250 gallons of ice cream, 1,000 pounds of roasted coffee, and 7,500 pieces of laundry.”

Photos taken of ice cream stands in the early 20th century include places as varied as Italy, Constantinople, and Rio de Janeiro.

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International Dominoes: Chatham House Online Archive

By Robert Lisiecki

Tackling international affairs is no small task; so, when someone can successfully improve international affairs through a determined effort, the success is appropriately recognized.

Members of The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, recently voted Melinda Gates as the Chatham House Prize winner. The members annually award the Prize to the individual they deem to have made the most significant contribution to the improvement of international relations in the previous year.

Some previous winners of the award include: Secretary Hillary Clinton, Burmese democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi, and President Lula of Brazil.

Melinda Gates was selected in recognition of her philanthropic commitment and humanitarian efforts and her tireless work to improve the health of women and children through increased access to family planning, simple newborn interventions, lifesaving vaccines, and better nutrition.

Read moreInternational Dominoes: Chatham House Online Archive

In Other News: MH17

A look at a current news item through the lens of different titles available on GVRL.

By Michelle Eickmeyer

This story is heart-breaking. Everything about the events in Ukraine since 17 July have not made logical or reasonable sense. A commercial airliner with 298 passengers flew, at an approved height, over a battle zone. Fighters in that area blew it out of the sky, believing only a military plane would fly there, with weapons provided by another nation. Then, for days, the same fighters laid a sordid claim to the wreckage, holding the victims and their family in some cruel, unthinkable, inhumane limbo — they held the bodies of victims; they rummaged through their belongings; they took photos. Finger pointing began immediately, and few solid answers have found their way to the surface. The black boxes have finally been turned over and international authorities have begun an increasingly difficult task of proving what happened. Based solely on facts and without pressure from any side.

Read moreIn Other News: MH17

10 Tips for Resume Perfection

Resume Resources for Job Seekers

By Phyllicia Morgan

It’s no secret how much a resume can make or break your chances of landing a job interview, or better yet, being chosen for the gig. According to recent studies, a recruiter spends an average of 6 seconds before they decide upon moving a resume forward or tossing it in the trash. Here are 10 tips for resume perfection that are bound to get your resume past the initial glance, keeping it out of the trash!

Read more10 Tips for Resume Perfection