International Holocaust Remembrance Day

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is coming up on January 27, and since I am writing an article about the it for my school’s newsletter, I thought I'd post this link to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. http://www.ushmm.org/
If you have any Holocaust-related research to do, this is a great place to get started.

January 27 was chosen by the United Nations because it is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz prisoners--January 27, 1945. Liberation of prisoners at Dachau occurred April 29, 1945. See museum site for details, including a helpful timeline and personal stories of survivors and victims.

Holocaust Remembrance Day is not to be confused with Holocaust Memorial Day (Yom HaShoah), which has been a somber, national holiday in Israel since 1959. Because it is designated on the Jewish calendar, falling on the 27th day of Nissan, it shifts slightly each year on the U.S. calendar. In 2010, Remembrance Day will be on April 12. Israel and other Jewish communities have been observing it far longer than the international Remembrance Day. Both days help us never to forget.

Inukshuk on Whistler

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Originally uploaded by MargaretKeys185

My family vacationed in Whistler, B.C., this summer, so we'd be all set for the 2010 Winter Olympics--which are almost here! The stone figure we are posing in front of is an Inukshuk, an Innuit creation that serves to help travelers identify paths and locate villages.

Welcome!

I have tried a few times to create a blog, but I've had trouble determining a focus. Should I use it to display my recent research or teaching materials, in case colleagues or students wish to access these things? Should I use it to provide tips for campgrounds and favored hikes? Or perhaps to post pathfinders to middle school research topics? Well, all of these things interest me.

I am a librarian in Northern California, I have a third-grade and a ninth-grade child, and I have taught college English and worked as a college reference and instruction librarian. All of these things combine to give me certain interests that aren't always easily categorized. I don't want to blog about my family, but because of my family, I have campgrounds to recommend and I have insight into what middle schoolers need in terms of library services. Because I work with college students, I have lots of tips and materials to post that someone else out there might find useful. So, I've decided that my blog can include whatever the heck I want it to, and that if a focus is to evolve, it will over time, like any good piece of writing.

Please feel free to comment on my blog. I hope my tips help you in some way.