This Week's Facts:
-
National Park Service Offers
Online Yosemite Experience
-
Constitution Day Resources
Provide Learning Opportunities
-
Help Raise Low Vision
Awareness Next Week
-
FTC Initiative Encourages
Sound Money Management
-
Join Feds in Promoting Child Passenger Safety
Document of the
Month: Annual Report of the Secretary of State of the State of
Indiana
The Secretary of State Annual Reports provide historical and
statistical information about Indiana government, procedures,
and various offices throughout the State. The reports contain
articles of incorporation for railroads and businesses. Also
included in these reports are listings of notaries public for
each county, justices of the peace, Governor’s Proclamations
and congressional /senatorial districts with number of votes &
population. These and other informative pieces of Indiana laws
and history can be found in these reports.
For example, in 1873, the Secretary of State was concerned with
the cost of public printing and ensuring public access: “While
all waste is to be avoided the State can not afford to be
parsimonious in furnishing the people with information of the
doings of their public servants, as shown in published acts,
reports, and documents.“
The annual reports (1873-1916) can be found in the State
Library’s Indiana Collection ISLI 353.9 I385ss.
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Friday Facts Editorial Team:
Katharine Springer
State Data
Center Coordinator
Elisabeth
O’Donnell
Federal Documents Librarian
&
Kim Brown-Harden
State
Documents Coordinator
 
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National
Parks Service Offers Online Yosemite Experience
 Do
you need a brain break from back-to-school activities? July’s
issue of Friday Facts suggested visiting the
National Parks Service website for an online
getaway. Why not visit the great Yosemite National Park from a
desktop or laptop this fall? The park’s multimedia presentations
include the video
Experience Your Yosemite, a
series of video podcasts called
Nature Notes and current
webcams in different areas
of this beautiful national treasure. All of these resources
enable you to experience the park in California as if you were
there, without the expense and trouble of travel. The
History and Culture part of
the website features Study the Scientist videos, with profiles
of a
Historical Architect and a
Fire Archeologist under the
Preservation section. If
you want to see more of what the park holds, look at the
Places to Go section to see
amazing rock formations, waterfalls, giant sequoias, and more.
Enjoy!
Constitution Day Resources Provide
Learning Opportunities
 Today
is Constitution Day! It is celebrated every year on September 17
in honor of the original signing of the Constitution on
September 17, 1787. Since legislation was passed in 2004,
schools around the country that receive federal funds are
required to teach the Constitution to their students or hold a
program on the day. As citizens of the United States, it is
important that we be aware of the contents of the Constitution.
One great site for reading it is
The Charters of Freedom.
Published by the National Archives, this site profiles the
Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of
Rights. You can find information on them as well as read
transcripts of the actual documents themselves. For ideas on how
to celebrate Constitution Day, see this
site from the National
Archives. You also may be interested in checking out
FREE: Federal Resources for Educational
Excellence for further teaching ideas.
While the primary goal of Constitution Day is to educate
citizens on what exactly is in our Constitution, each year also
has its own theme. This year’s theme is the importance of jury
service. The US Courts
website has a great section
dedicated to serving on a jury. They have educational resources
on jury service basics, courtroom & classroom activities and
even a scripted jury trial of William Penn.
Help Raise Low
Vision Awareness Next Week
 In
2009, Governor Daniels
proclaimed Vision
Awareness Week to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Louis
Braille’s Birthday. Vision Awareness Week for 2010 is September
19-25. The culmination of the week will be
the Indiana Vision Expo
held at the
Indiana State Library on
Saturday, September 25.
Click here for the schedule
of events. Attendees will gain valuable information and
resources for persons with vision loss and the technological
advances available to them. Contact the
Expo
Coordinator for more information about the Expo
and events.
FTC Initiative
Encourages Sound Money Management
 The
Federal Trade Commission has created a website called
Money Matters, which
features various topics about personal finance. You’ll find
consumer-driven information on
managing your money,
credit cards &
debt,
jobs, and more. While much
of this information may seem basic, it’s important to remind and
reinforce these tips with the public. Everyone will have
spending and
saving issues throughout
their lives, and there will always be
scams to watch out for.
There are also videos to watch, website buttons and banners and
a
Spanish language version of
the website.
Help Feds Promote
Child Passenger Safety
 September
19-25 is National Child Passenger Safety Week for 2010.
According to the CDC, in 2008, four children under the age of 14
were killed in motor vehicle crashes every day. Often, this is
because of improper restraining devices. It is important to know
the four main stages of passenger safety throughout childhood –
rear-facing seat, forward-facing seat, booster seat and seat
belt. To help promote the week, the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration has a variety of promotional materials
available. Check out their
website for fact sheets,
posters, online banners and more. Some of these are even
available in Spanish. You also may be interested in following
Child Passenger Safety Week on
Facebook or Twitter.
Additionally, don’t forget that Saturday, September 25 is
National Seat Check Saturday. This is a great opportunity to
make sure that your children are buckled up safely.
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