A Titanic Impact for 100 Years!

On April 15th 1912, the luxury steamer Titanic sank in the Northern Atlantic Ocean killing approximately 1500 people. This event was a shared experience in a time before there was instant access, 24 hours a day, to entertainment.

The Titanic tragedy had a unique combination of elements that made it a marker of 20th century history. Titanic was not the greatest disaster ever, but it happened in the right place, at the right time, had the right reputation, and the right players to capture the attention of the world and have a lasting impact on our society.

The story of the Titanic is one of irony, arrogance, the pressures of society, class and cultural warfare, technology, and human fallibility. The facets of this drama were utilized as ammunition to further social and political reforms.

This event helped to fuel changes in how society values human life and was an impetus to implement safety standards. Immediate influences were the mandatory use of electronic communication, minimum lifeboat capacities, and the development of the ice patrol.

Titanic spurred debate over women's rights with the questioning of the motto, "Women and children first”, which really only played out in the upper-class where 97% of the women survived.

Already a prevalent issue in society at the time, the death of 75% of passengers in the steerage or lower-class sections of the boat brought about many accusations of wrong-doing and indifference to the survival of the poor. This event highlighted class struggles and helped to promote reforms in the treatment of the poor. Prejudices toward foreigners were also brought to the forefront of discussions.

Titanic was also a good example of both the fallibility of human technology while at the same time new technologies brought timely news of the Titanic to the masses. For 100 years people have been fascinated by the complexities and ironies of this event. Find out more utilizing the resources below.

Online Resources

The New York Times, April 16th, 1912
The Loss of the SS. Titanic by Lawrence Beesley (a second class passenger)
The truth about the Titanic by Archibald Gracie (a first class passenger)
Note: A view of the social standards of the time is revealed in this account in the treatment of people that the author deemed to be unworthy of referring to by name.

Books in the Library

Titanic Tragedy by John Maxtone-Graham
910.91 M451
Titanic, the Great Lakes Connections by Cris Kohl
363.12 K824
The Titanic disaster by Dave Bryceson
363.12 B843
Titanica 
 810.8 B476
Titanic, Destination Disaster by John Eaton and Haas Charles
910 Ea84
A night to remember by Walter Lord
910.453 L884
The maiden voyage by Geoffrey Jules Marcus
910.453 M334
The story of the Titanic, as told by its survivors by Jack Winocour
910.453 W731
Down with the old canoe by Steven Biel
910.91 B476
Titanic by Judith B. Geller
910.91 G282
All stations! distress! by Don Brown
C 910 B812
Voyage on the great Titanic by Ellen Emerson White
C F W582

Prepare to Meet...Your Spring Break!

We've got a week to get down to business and wrap up projects, or gather information for papers and presentations we'll be working on during the upcoming break. The problem for me is that the recent warm weather has been pretty distracting. I don't ever remember a Spring Break approaching when leaves were already sprouting on the trees, or seeing flowers emerging into full and brilliant bloom. I've always driven slightly south to get a feel for the weather we'd soon be enjoying.

I'd like to offer a couple of quick reminders about some library resources that can make your job a little easier. A word about Ebrary, our online book database with about 70,000 volumes. It's always been available from anywhere you have an internet connection, but now, Ebrary allows you to download an entire book to your computer and various other devices, where it will reside for two weeks, no internet connection required!

Another great option for finding articles is GREENR which stands for Global Reference on Energy, the Environment, and Natural Resources. I've worked with a number of students lately who are doing research in these subject areas who find that this database is chock full of articles from scholarly and popular periodicals, videos, podcasts, newspapers and more.

Remember that with most of the databases you can email articles to yourself, print them, even download them to a usb drive, which again allows access to academic level research without being connected to the internet.

So before you go out and smell the flowers, gather some great resources. It's your research bouquet from the NCMC Library!

Fresh Snow, Fresh Start

It's fitting that just a few days before the Winter semester will start that we would finally get a measurable snow! I have to admit that I found the warm (for December) days pretty convenient for holiday visits and shopping. But now that the weather seems to have aligned with our winter expectations, I feel ready to buckle down to the business of supporting the research needs of our students. Many of you will make trips to the library this semester for class instruction and for help with assignments. We count on you to let us know what you need to help you succeed in your classes. Oh, and for you Graphic Novel fans, there's a new bunch on the way!

December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor Day

On this day in 1941, Japanese planes attacked the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which resulted in the deaths of 2,300 Americans. Read more about this tragedy at the Library of Congress American Memory Project.