Ok, I’m probably exaggerating (no probably about it) but BizJournals is joining the ranks of Sean “Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puff, Puffy, Swag” Combs in changing its name.  Before it was BizJournals, it was simply the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. Sure it hasn’t changed it as often as Diddy/Swag/whatever, but still… name changes seem to be the thing to do.  So if you’re used to using BizJournals to find the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal or the Book of Lists, now you’ll get to use BizLink.  There have been no other changes, no platform changes, no new content.  Simply  a name change.  I guess they just wanted to get their name out there and the only way they could think of to do it was the change the name, which leads to getting enormous press like this, a mention in this blog with its one dedicated reader.

Since I’ve piqued your interest in BizLink, I’ll pass along their press release that came along with the name change:

Several new e-books were recently received and a few titles caught my eye.  These titles and nearly a hundred more can be found in the Gale Virtual Reference Library.

Story behind the Protest Song: A Reference Guide to the 50 Songs That Changed the 20th Century.  I’ll give you a pop quiz.  Which song is NOT included in the 50:

• This Land is Your Land
• (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (to ParrrrrrrTay!)
• You Light Up My Life
• 99 Luftballons
• Southern Man

Go ahead and guess.   Or check out the book to see if you agree with the 50 songs that these authors chose.

I feel kinda slighted that my manifesto failed to make it into Milestone Documents in World History, Milestone Documents in American History or Milestone Documents in World Religions.  Honestly, it could fit into any of these titles.

I happen to think that Popular Controversies in World History: Investigating History’s Intriguing Questions missed some of the big controversies, like whether or not Elvis and/or JFK are really dead.  Oh, I get it.  They left this one out cuz OF COURSE both Elvis and JFK are alive and well.  Yup, proof right there people!  Also missed, no one ever landed on the moon.  Meh. I guess the book is not called “Conspiracy Theories in World History” for a reason.

Perhaps Space Exploration and Humanity: A Historical Encyclopedia explains the moon landing but with chapters titled “Astrobiology” and “Microgravity Science” I kinda spaced out (Get it?!  See what I just did there?? Which just proves my next point).

Superior Beings: If They Exist How Would We Know? Oh, how this book doth jest!  We superior beings, of course, do exist.  You know I do because you faithfully read my blog every time I post and hang on my every word.  The book is described like this: Examines theology and the idea of a superior being in the context of game theory. The central question posed: If there existed a superior being who possessed the supernatural qualities of omniscience, omnipotence, immortality, and incomprehensibility, how would he/she act differently from us? My aforementioned manifesto explains how, in my omniscience, omnipotence, immortality (possibly immorality, but that’s a different blog post) and incomprehensibility (DEFINITELY this one) I act differently from you.

On behalf of the library staff I’d like to say congratulations and farewell to our graduating seniors.  Also, good luck.  Please remember as you go on your way that we’re still here for you if you have questions and some of the library resources you used in your classes will be available to you courtesy of the Electronic Library of Minnesota (ELM).

ELM offers a number of familiar resources to any Minnesota resident with an active public library card.  A few titles you may (hopefully) have used while at UST are:

• Academic Search Premier
• Business Source Premier
• ERIC
• Expanded Academic
• Netlibrary
• Proquest Newsstand
• Regional Business News

So for all you business graduates, you will still have access to Business Source Premier, only you’ll be accessing it through ELM instead of UST Libraries.

Once again, congratulations, good luck, and farewell.  And call us if your boss gives you a research project that is over your head.  We’re still gonna be here for you.

150 years ago today the American Civil War began when the Confederate army fired on Fort Sumter.  We have several sources for those of you interested in it.

Civil War Era

Companion to the  Civil War and Reconstruction

Women in the American Civil War

Historic New York Times

Depictions of the war can be found in ArtStor, which includes over 100 Matthew Brady photos and art from several other artists.  In fact, here is Albert Bierstadt’s interpretation of Fort Sumter under siege. It’s called “Bombardment of Fort Sumter.”  You can get this image and thousands of others from ArtStor.

Because as the saying goes, those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.