National Library Week 2022

This year, National Library Week is April 3rd–9th. ibiblio is one of the world’s first online libraries and hosts a collection of over 2,500 sites, ranging from book archives to nonprofits along with radio stations and even freely available software. Not only does ibiblio host a collection of amazing resources, it also hosts many library-related websites as well. Be sure to check out these sites and browse ibiblio’s collection during National Library Week!

Vermont Library Association

The Vermont Library Association is Vermont’s chapter of the American Library Association, their goal is to provide education and opportunities for library professionals and library lovers. They also publish a quarterly newsletter, and they focus on advocating for libraries and librarians in Vermont on statewide and local levels. Their website has many resources on how to get involved with libraries in Vermont!

Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg provides free eBooks and other additional content such as musical scores, movies, and sound files. It’s a great resource for accessing classic books by popular historical authors, and all text files come in a variety of formats so you can choose to view the content any way you like. 

librarian.net

Librarian.net is librarian Jessamyn West’s blog for all things library-related! She posts technology tips, news about national policies concerning information and literacy, personal reading updates, and more. 

ibiblio Alumni

North Carolina Library Association

The NCLA is a statewide American Library Association-affiliated organization whose goal is to promote and assist NC’s library community. They host meetings to discuss library-related issues, promote information and library science research, and provide education for library personnel. The NCLA also publishes a journal devoted to library issues, which can be found here! 

 

National Hollerin’ Contest

For nearly 50 years, the National Hollerin’ Contest was held every third Saturday of June in Spivey’s Corner, North Carolina. Although the contest ended in 2016, it is a great piece of North Carolina history and the “semi-official” website is hosted by ibiblio!

The contest celebrates the folk tradition of hollering as a form of communication, which was popular in communities across the Southeast United States during the 18th and 19 centuries. In North Carolina, loggers transporting wood from Sampson County (where Spivey’s Corner is located) to Wilmington would holler to each other in order to avoid raft crashes and call for aid. To natives of Sampson County, hollering is viewed as an art form and taken very seriously!

Types of Hollers

While hollers can be used for basically any purpose imaginable, there are generally four types of hollers that are heard at the National Hollerin’ Contest. They are:

Distress Hollers

These hollers were historically used to alert neighbors of danger. This tone was commonly used to find lost children and bring attention to house fires.

Communicative Hollers

Since farmers often worked a mile or two away from each other, they would use hollers to say hello or confirm someone’s location. Nothing else was loud enough to be heard from that distance!

Functional Hollers

These were commonly used to round up animals such as pigs and cows. Each farmer had a set of unique calls so they wouldn’t disturb their neighbors’ dogs while trying to round up their own animals. Women also used functional hollers to call home to their families while working outside during the day.

Expressive Hollers

While the other forms of hollers are more functional, expressive hollers are just for fun! They can be to the tune of a song or be an impression, or they can be something completely made up. Many contestants have won the contest with this type of holler.

More Resources

If you want to see what it is like to be at the contest, check out this video from the 2015 event. Don’t forget to browse the Hollerin’ History site hosted by ibiblio!

Blender 3D Tutorials

Blender is a software used to create 3D art, games, printable models, and more. It is free to download and use, works on major operating systems, and is used by hobbyists and professionals alike. 

ibiblio hosts the site Greybeard’s Blender Tutorials which is home to a collection of videos that introduce you to Blender’s interface and walk you through different modeling techniques. The levels of difficulty range from beginner to expert, so there is something for everyone! Even if you don’t attempt to follow along, the tutorials are very entertaining—especially if you have ever been interested in game development or any part of the animation pipeline.

If you’re unable to watch the videos after downloading them to your computer, I suggest using an online video converter such as Cloud Convert to convert the .avi and .wmv files into .mp4 or .mov files. From there, you’ll be able to watch them directly on the website, or save them to your computer. Before using a video converting software or website, make sure it is safe to use and will not harm your device! 

The most recent version of Blender is 3.0.1, but the tutorials were made using versions 2.3 and 2.4. Although the current interface looks different than it does in the videos, the tips are still applicable! It may take some time to find the tabs and panels, but Blender labels all of the property panels and includes a help section in the menu bar as well. 

For updated tutorials and project inspiration, feel free to also check out Blender’s website!