Current News

http://youtu.be/Z7fQk9XgL6g

You can subscribe to an RSS feed to receive updates whenever the content of this page changes. 

These are some government reports and other publications that you may have heard mentioned recently on television or on the radio, or read about in the newspapers. Many of these documents are in PDF format and require the Adobe Reader.

• Budget
• Depository Libraries
  
• Economy
• Government Efficiency
• Nutrition
• State of the Union Address
• Tobacco Warnings

For older items, see the following archived “Government Documents in the News” pages:

• 2010
  
• 2009
  
• 2008
  

Budget

The authentic, electronic version of President Obama's Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2012 is now available from the United States Government Printing Office (GPO) through their Federal Digital System (FDsys).

Issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Budget of the United States Government is a collection of documents that contains the budget message of the President, information about the President's budget proposals for a given fiscal year, and other budgetary publications that have been issued throughout the fiscal year. Other budget items, such as related publications and supporting materials, are included, which may vary from year to year.

FY 2012 Budget documents are available in PDF, with many of the tables also available for separate viewing and downloading as spreadsheets in xls and comma delimited formats.

GPO has signed and certified the PDF files to assure users that the online documents are official and authentic. The digitally signed PDF files should be viewed using Adobe Acrobat or Reader version 7.0 or higher.

The President's budget documents for FY 2012 will be distributed to Federal depository libraries in paper format under the following Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) numbers:

• Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2012
  PREX 2.8:2012
• Appendix, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2012
  PREX 2.8:2012/APP
• Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2012
  PREX 2.8/5:2012
• Historical Tables, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2012
  PREX 2.8/8:2012
  

Additionally, copies of the FY 2012 Budget are available for purchase from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at <http://bookstore.gpo.gov/collections/budget.jsp>.

 Read GPO's press release about the President's FY 2012 budget at <http://www.gpo.gov/pdfs/news-media/press/11news12.pdf>

Economy

Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission spent more than a year studying the causes of the financial crisis. See the Financial Crisis Inquiry Report, the conclusions, transcripts, recordings, and other research materials created by the Commission throughout its investigation.

Depository Libraries

Recently several national organizations have started letter writing campaigns to express their dissatisfaction with GPO regulations. Some depository librarians are concerned that the current sentiments of these large academic institutions leading the campaigns against the Government Printing Office are going to cause Congress to eliminate funding for the Federal Depository Library Program entirely. They are already significantly reducing funding for essential services like FDSys. 

For additional background information and opportunities to express your opinion regarding this issue, see the Free Government Information (FGI) Web site.

Government Efficiency

Campaign to Cut Waste (White House)

President Obama and Vice President Biden have launched the Campaign to Cut Waste, which will hunt down and eliminate misspent tax dollars in every agency and department across the Federal Government. This page includes a link to Obama's Executive Order Delivering an Efficient, Effective, and Accountable Government, his Executive Order Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review, and information on how the various executive agencies have been implementing initiatives to reduce burdens and save money.

Nutrition

MyPlate (USDA)

The USDA has replaced the Food Pyramid, in use since 1992, with a new visual aid called MyPlate, which uses a pie chart shaped like a dinner plate to help Americans visualize the proportions of different types of food in a healthy diet. This Web site includes the new logo, as well as a more detailed explanation of the components of a healthy diet.

Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 (USDA)

This document is the cornerstone of Federal nutrition policy and nutrition education activities. The Dietary Guidelines are jointly issued and updated every 5 years by the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS). They provide authoritative advice for Americans ages 2 and older about consuming fewer calories, making informed food choices, and being physically active to attain and maintain a healthy weight, reduce risk of chronic disease, and promote overall health.

State of the Union Address

The State of the Union is an annual address presented before a joint session of Congress and held in the House of Representatives Chamber at the U.S. Capitol. The address not only reports on the condition of the nation, but also allows the president to outline his/her legislative agenda and national priorities to Congress.

President Barack Obama presented his 2011 State of the Union Address to Congress on January 25, 2011. The White House Web site has an enhanced version that features charts, graphs and other visual aids that accompany the President's speech. You can see just the visual aids, with corrections, at the Fast Fedora Web site.

A Fact Sheet providing a brief summary and analysis of the Presiden'ts speech appears on the Newswire.com Web site.

Inside the White House: The State of the Union Address provides a glimpse into the process of preparing the State of the Union address.

Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin delivered the Republican response following the speech. There were also responses from Michelle Bachmann of the Tea Party movement, from the Libertarian Party, and from the Socialist Party USA.

Texts of earlier State of the Union addresses back to 1992 can be found at the GPO Access Web site. State of the Union addresses from 1790 to 2006 can be found on the USA Presidents Web site. The State of the Union Address Library contains texts of all the State of the Union addresses given from 1790 to the present.

Tobacco Warnings

Cigarette Health Warnings (FDA)

Beginning September 2012, FDA will require larger, more prominent cigarette health warnings on all cigarette packaging and advertisements in the United States. The final set of cigarette health warnings contains nine different text warnings and accompanying color graphics to increase awareness of the specific health risks associated with smoking, such as death, addiction, lung disease, cancer, stroke and heart disease; encourage smokers to quit; and empower youth to say no to tobacco. This Web site includes full text of the final rule, with illustrations; press releases; and answers to frequently asked questions.

This display is about Anglophilia, the love of all things British. Harry Potter, Doctor Who, the Lord of the Rings, the Golden Compass, the Chronicles of Narnia, and much more are all featured in this display. So grab a book and some fish and chips and have  a jolly good time.

Did you make some New Year's resolutions this year? Want some help and encouragement to keep with them? Check out some of these books! There are books about getting organized, dieting, relationship advice, fitness, and more.

All art books and reference have been moved to the first floor of the Eagle Commons Library (ECL).

Art journals will be moved into ECL by January 20.

Please visit the ECL service desk to check out reserves for all art courses.

Many cultures and people have predicted the end of world happening. There are many different myths and stories and ideas about how this will all end. This display showcases books ranging from the rapture, nuclear apocalypse, zombies, survival in the end of the world, and much more.

Come to the first floor to find books about writing, the process, inspiration, techniques on writing and more.

Use this visual bookshelf to see the books that are included in the display.

Have you ever dreamed on putting that idea for a novel that you’ve had in your head for a while actually down on paper? 

Or developing a story idea for that character you’ve imagined? 

You’ll find support from other aspiring novelists at several University of North Texas events for National Novel Writing Month. 

Need Thesis or Dissertation help? The following will be of interest to you!
Jill Kleister, Graduate Reader of the Toulouse Graduate School (TGS), is available at the Discovery Park Library, October 3rd – 7th, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The library has a large collection of books about LGBTQ issues and more. Come to the display to check out some of the newer books.

International Student Volunteers is hosting information meetings about incredible opportunities this summer to volunteer in summer programs in Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica (Central America), Dominican Republic (Caribbean), Ecuador (South America), Thailand (South East Asia) and South Africa! 

Banned Books Week is the annual celebration of intellectual freedom and the right to read! It is a campaign led by the American Library Association to raise awareness of censorship issues that still happen every day.

Banned Books Week is celebrated September 24th to October 1st, 2011.

Here is a visual bookshelf of the books included in the display. Come to the 1st floor of Willis Library during September to grab one of these books!

The UNT Libraries, in cooperation with the UNT Friends of the Libraries, is pleased to announce a Call for Entries for its 2011 Artists' Book Competition. UNT students, faculty and community members are invited to submit entries for possible inclusion in the exhibit. Accepted entries will be showcased in an exhibit in the UNT Libraries’ Rare Book Room in the Spring of 2012. Additionally, all accepted entries are eligible for a purchase prize of $400 that may be granted at the discretion of the judges. If an entry is selected for the purchase prize, the entry will become a permanent addition to the Rare Book Room collections.

In 1906 UNT’s first football team took to the field, and over the next century the team obtained some incredible successes such as its first bowl game win on December 21, 1946 against the College of the Pacific in the Optimist Bowl. UNT would move on to other bowl games: the Salad Bowl (precursor to the Fiesta Bowl), the Sun Bowl, and the New Orleans Bowl.  Legendary players such as Ray Renfro, Abner Haynes, Richard Gill, and Joe Greene drove UNT to even greater accomplishments.

Please join us in the Willis Library Forum to celebrate this fascinating look at UNT Football history, on display this semester from 8/25 to 12/16/2011. The Libraries have also created an online digital collection for those who wish to see more, UNT Legends: a Century of Mean Green Football.

Wednesday, August 24th in the Library Mall, UNT will host it's annual Mean Green Fling to welcome students back to campus and the Libraries will be there!

Harry Potter’s World: Renaissance Science, Magic and Medicine, an exhibit that explores the world of Harry Potter and its historical roots in the Renaissance is on display at Willis Library.

This display showcases the collections of Popular Culture and Philosphy and the Blackwell Philosophy and PopCulture series.

Howdy There! This is a display full of westerns. Here you can find books about the Old West, Cowboys and Indians, Train Robberies, and the old Saloon too. There are books about the western genre, information about the old west and more.

Classical Music Library has recently added 22,496 tracks (1,529 new albums) from EMI, Virgin Classics, and Angel Records - you can see the full list at http://clmu.alexanderstreet.com/WhatsNew.  Highlights include recordings by The Eroica Trio, Sarah Chang, Les Arts Florissants, Maria Callas, Julian Bream, English Consort, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, Sviatoslav Richter, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Taverner Choir, Kiri Te Kanawa, Maxim Vengerov, Vienna Philharmonic, and many more. 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION!

Alexander Street has had to remove streaming access to 94 existing albums in Classical Music Library for which EMI incorrectly gave them the rights.  They have not yet removed the metadata (so that users will have a chance to re-assign other content to playlists if they have used any of these tracks), so if you see an "X" icon next to one of these tracks, it is not an error.

Also, UNT recently began a subscription to African American Music Reference, which contains:

"[T]he first comprehensive coverage of blues, jazz, spirituals, civil rights songs, slave songs, minstrelsy, rhythm and blues, gospel, and other forms of black American musical expression—and it is the only electronic access to this information.  Resources include biographies, anthologies, encyclopedias, images, lyrics (digitized and fully searchable), songsheets, chronologies, critical textbooks, a complete discography of the top African American artists, and links to editorially selected Web resources.  Rare and previously unpublished items are included.  With an advisory board led by Samuel Floyd, Jr., founder and director emeritus of the Center for Black Music Research at Columbia College, our editors have painstakingly compiled the largest, most functional discography for this area."

Display about Juneteenth, the holiday marking June 18th when the Emancipation Proclamation was announced in Texas back in 1865.