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#LibraryNews

12/20/2021
profile-icon Kristen Smith

universal declaration of human rightsDecember is Universal Human Rights Month. On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The document consists of thirty articles outlining the basic rights and individual freedoms of all persons, and it built on the declaration that “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.” 

Article 26 of the document even affirms the right of all people to education as well as the importance of higher education being equally accessible to all. Even so, there are a number of obstacles, some big and some small, to making this a reality both in the US and around the world. The cost of required course texts is one such obstacle. While not a perfect solution to this barrier, a central goal of Open Education Resources (OER) is equal access. 

oer logoWhat are OER? According to Creative Commons, “Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research materials that are either (a) in the public domain or (b) licensed in a manner that provides everyone with free and perpetual permission to engage in the 5R [Retain, Reuse, Remix, Revise, and Redistribute] activities.”  These resources help make education more accessible and in doing so contrite to student success. If you are interested in more information on OER, contact your librarians. 

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12/13/2021
profile-icon Mary Anderson

On December 28th, 1864, President James Polk signed a bill making Iowa the 29th state in the United States of America. This year, 2021, Iowa will hit a major milestone - 175 years of statehood.

Although native peoples had lived in the territory for thousands of years prior, and European explorers and traders had been in the territory since the late 17th century, the first official white settlement in Iowa began in 1833 with the Black Hawk Purchase. Most of this group was family units who had traveled through and lived in other states first, as Americans attempted to settle the west. Just as these new settlers traversed to Iowa from other locations, many would continue on farther west after a short time.

Settlers that chose to stay quickly learned that the environment in Iowa was different from what they knew. Unliked the heavily timbered land in the east, most of territory, expect for near rivers and stream where trees grew plentifully, was tall grassland and prairie. Settlers could usually find enough wood for housing, but some had to build sod houses and most had to utilize prairie grasses, corn cobs, and animal dropping for fuel.  

The railroads followed the settlers in the mid-1800’s. This allowed not only for people to come and go but for easier access to goods from other places as well as the ability to market local goods, namely corn, wheat, beef, and pork, to other locations. The completion of the railroad indicated economic change for the settlers of Iowa. On top of the production of food, settlers began working in manufacturing now that they were able to easily ship supplies in and goods out.

Once settlers had stable work the population began to grow. With this growth was the establishment of schools and churches. Of course, the oldest post-secondary school established in Iowa is our own Loras College, founded in 1839 by Bishop Mathias Loras in the settlement of Dubuque. While other religions took prominence across Iowa, Dubuque became the hub for Catholicism. Bishop Loras assisted in setting up many of the Catholic churches in the region and worked to attract priests and nuns to come live on the frontier.

In 1864, Iowa achieved statehood. From this time forward the state continued to attract many settlers. To learn about Iowa’s history, check out the display just inside the entrance to the library. Learn about our wonderful state and the achievements of Iowans throughout history. You can also find information online here.

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12/06/2021
profile-icon Mary Anderson

The Feast of Saint Nicholas, December 6, is not only associated with Nicholas of Myra, the early Christian bishop know for his care of the poor and marginalized, but also the Alpine folkloric figure of Krampus. Krampus’ origins, however, are likely much older than Nicholas and even Christianity.

According to legend, he is the son of the Norse god of the underworld. He was first connected with rituals related to the winter solstice, but with the emergence of Christianity, he became linked to the Christmas season, and eventually Saint Nicholas. Traditionally, on the night of December 5, while St. Nicholas rewards well-behaved children with small gifts such as oranges, nuts, and chocolate left in their shoes, Krampus accompanies him and punished the badly behaved children, beating them with birch rods or carrying them away to be tortured or eaten.

Europeans have been exchanging greeting cards and postcards featuring Krampus since the 19th century. The cards often have humorous rhymes and poems or the phrase, “Gruss vom Krampus!” (Greetings from Krampus). Loras has an extensive collection of these postcard included in the Roseliep Postcard Collection.

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