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Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage month, which provides me with the perfect opportunity to highlight one of our outreach activities- the Asian Science & Technology (S&T) Forum. Our division’s research specialist in Asian S&T policy, Dr. Tomoko Steen, created this forum three years ago as a discussion group on behalf of a selection of Asian …
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
If you were in the Washington, D.C. area this morning (April 17), you were treated to a fly-by of the Space Shuttle Discovery riding piggy-back on a 747 as it made its way to the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center located near Dulles International Airport. I did not want to miss …
Posted in: Aeronautics/Astronautics, Pic of the Week
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
I answer a fair share of questions from authors, historians, and filmmakers who are trying to find weather or astronomical observations for a particular time and place so they can accurately describe a moment in time. You can imagine my delight when I read that film director James Cameron will be including a historically accurate …
Posted in: Astronomy/Mathematics, Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
In the wake of the 2001 September 11 al Qaeda attacks on the U.S., five anonymous letters containing a deadly strain of anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) were mailed via the U.S. Postal Service to major media outlets in Florida and New York, and to the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C. This bioterrorist attack killed 5 people: …
Posted in: Lunchtime Lectures and Videos, Military science
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
I doubt that anyone would disagree that the best time to visit Washington D.C. is when the Japanese cherry trees are in bloom. It is said that the cherry blossoms are awakened in spring by the ‘maiden who causes trees to bloom’ or by fairies who visit the emperor at the Palace of Yoshino in …
Posted in: Gardening, Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
Today’s post is from science reference librarian Margaret Clifton. She is also the author of Saving Energy: The Fall Back Position, Stars in his Eyes and Sun Spots this Summer. I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night – Sarah Willams (1837-1868)* In February of 2010 I wrote a post for Inside …
Posted in: Aeronautics/Astronautics, Astronomy/Mathematics, Guest Blog Posts, Inventions, Lunchtime Lectures and Videos
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
This week I have been relocating to a new office. This is my first move since I joined the Library over ten years ago and boy have I accumulated a vast collection of files and paper. Many of these files have been buried away and it takes a move like this for some interesting stuff …
Posted in: Favorites From the Fifth Floor, Women's History
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
Americans have been celebrating George Washington’s birthday since he became president. We have continued this tradition for over two hundred years with the help of Congress who, in 1879, officially designated Washington’s Birthday (February 22) as a Federal Holiday. You might be asking yourself some questions right now: Do we still celebrate Washington’s birthday on February …
Posted in: Cookbooks and Food, Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History, Presidents
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
As librarians, we identify, evaluate, select, collect, describe, preserve and provide access to materials to facilitate use. As librarians of the 21st century, we have integrated digital collections such as ebooks, databases, datasets, and other digital objects into our traditional analog collections. What about websites? Do libraries collect websites? Back in January, I presented on …
Posted in: Favorites From the Fifth Floor, Science