Library Stuff

“April 15 can be a taxing day for all of us living in modern times, but our ancestors didn’t have it much easier. Although our federal income tax only dates back to the Civil War era, Tennesseans have been paying state and local taxes since long before then. Now Tennessee tax records dating back to 1783 are available free online to Tennesseans, thanks to a partnership between the Tennessee State Library and Archives and Ancestry.com. The online database contains records from 71 of Tennessee’s 95 counties. Famous notables like Andrew Jackson (who paid $66 in taxes to Davidson County in 1829) appear side by side with ordinary farmers, millers and laborers.” (via Tennessee Department of State)

“Voters will be allowed to use Memphis library cards as photo identification in the November 6 election, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled on Thursday in a blow to Republicans who wanted only ID issued by the federal and state governments to be allowed. Tennessee is among a number of states that have passed laws requiring voters to show photo ID. Republicans say the laws are needed to deter fraud, while Democrats say they are aimed at depressing turnout by voters who typically support their party.

The Tennessee law, which took effect at the beginning of the year, requires people to show a driver’s license, state-issued handgun carry permit, a U.S. passport or another form of government-issued ID to vote. Student IDs are not acceptable.”

via Reuters

AP – “About 100 public libraries across Tennessee will soon be sharing an online library catalog. The Tennessee State Library and Archives recently purchased a new electronic product, making it easier for libraries to use state-of-the-art computer technology to share resources. Participating libraries will have the option of making their inventories of materials available over the Internet, which will allow patrons to reserve books online or request that neighboring libraries ship books to their local libraries to check out.

Wired Campus – “Many colleges have adopted text alerts as part of their emergency notification plans. That’s because text-messaging technology is very efficient at mobilizing large groups of people quickly. Unfortunately, that efficiency can have a dark side, as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga discovered last night.”

Jason Griffey (who works there) is bookmarking relevant videos/news stories on delicious.