July 2021 Federal Document – South Dakota’s First Astronaut!

Quite an accomplishment! Lt. Col. Charles Gemar was South Dakota’s first astronaut to travel in space. The Lieutenant Colonel completed three missions in 1990, 1991, and 1994, logging more than 580 hours. His longest space stay was 14 days in 1994.

Lt. Col. Chuck Gemar, born and raised in southeastern South Dakota, belonging to several organizations and receiving many special honors.

Photo: NASA

President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the space act in 1958, establishing NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). 

The State Library is a source of early NASA federal documents. Titles from the state library collection were selected along with a NASA daily calendar to view awestruck astronomy, linked below.

• NASA, the first 25 years, 1958-1983 : a resource for teachers : a curriculum project. https://permanent.fdlp.gov/gpo57400/19840018495.pdf 
  NAS 1.21:400  OCLC#2644423
• Skylab, our first space station https://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/LPS70431  
• NASA provides amazing wonders in, Astronomy Picture of the Day Calendar 1995-2021 https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html

The SD State Library is a federal depository library and provides access to print and electronic federal government publications. Print publications are available via interlibrary loan. Electronic publications are linked from the state library online catalog.

South Dakota State Library’s Public Librarian Vlog

South Dakota State Library has created a vlog entitled Loud Librarians Lead where librarians from across the state are interviewed about what is happening at their library! Librarians are leading each other by sharing their hard work and educating viewers on a particular topic of their expertise.

LOUD LIBRARIANS LEAD: January 2021 with Misti B.

Misti Burns is the Library Director for Tripp County Library Grossenburg Memorial in Winner, SD. She has a bachelor's degree in finance through the honors program at the University of Wyoming. She worked for over 15 years in sales and marketing in Sioux Falls. In May 2011, she moved to Winner and focused on being a full-time mom and volunteer. When the library position became available in 2019, she was elated. Her love for reading, learning, and helping people of all ages makes working at the library a perfect match! Misti lives with her husband Chris and their three daughters, Taylor (high school senior), Brooke (6th grade), and Katie (3rd grade). In her spare time, she enjoys reading, spending time with family and friends, her dog Mya and her cat Num-Nums, watching a good documentary or inspirational movie, and teaching Sunday School.

Enjoy the premiere above, and for more links and information, visit Loud Librarians Lead at library.sd.gov.

Earth Day 2020

Earth Day’s 50th Anniversary: April 22, 2020

Earth Day 2020 Theme: Climate Action

Is your library proactive in the application of sustainable thinking? The American Library Association (ALA) states to be truly sustainable, an organization or community must embody practices that are environmentally sound and economically feasible and socially equitable.

Libraries play an important and unique role in wider community communications about resiliency, climate change and a sustainable future and libraries that demonstrate good stewardship of the resources entrusted to them can build community support that leads to sustainable funding.

Your library and can participate in this important event and engage your community. To learn more about Earth Day’s 2020 theme of climate action visit earthday.org.

STAR Net has partnered with ALA and NASA for the April 2020 Our Planet: EARTH Campaign. Your library can participate in this initiative too! Visit starnetlibraries.org for more information.