In Honor of Memorial Day...

 Bivouac of the Dead

The muffled drum's sad roll has beat
The soldier's last tattoo;
No more on Life's parade shall meet
That brave and fallen few.

Read about this famous poem that graces many military cemeteries and learn about the poet Theodore O'Hara from Dept. of Veterans Affairs 

A couple stunning new books about war: War by Sebastian Junger is the author's account of his time with an infantry platoon serving in Afghanistan in 2007/08, and THE MUST READ BOOK THIS YEAR is Matterhorn by Vietnam Veteran Karl Marlantes, a riveting portrayal of a group of soldiers doing battles with the enemy,  the jungle, and themselves during the Vietnam War. (I could only read a chapter at a time it was so intense.)  Read the review of Matterhorn by Sebastian Junger.  

To remember the brave men and women who have served our country check out this article from the Washington Post about The Best Lesser Known War Memorials

At War is the sobering and stunning blog from reporters with the NY Times

The History of Memorial Day from History.com

Bits of Knowledge: Food, Maps, Music, Science, War, and Literacy

Do this BEFORE lunch--Watch Jamie Oliver's passionate award-winning TED speech "Teach Every Kid About Food"

How do we see the world?  Before Google Maps there was ... Explore this concept with the fascinating new exhibit  Magnificent Maps: Power, Propaganda, & Art from the British Library and read this interesting article about the exhibition Ten of the Greatest: Maps That Changed the World. 

How about a little music?  Experiment with rhythm and sound with Wolfgram Tones

If science is of interest check out this review of Six Free Websites for Learning and Teaching Science including a great site from Scientific American.

 Discovering the Civil War is an absorbing new exhibit from the National Archives that takes our knowledge further about this violent conflict.  

We feel strongly about Information Literacy in the Library and we welcome this call to action! Information Literacy: A Neglected Core Competency