If you are interested in finding resources in the library about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., do a subject search in the online catalog for King, Martin Luther, Jr.
If you want to read the books by today’s speaker, Benjamin Carson, search for Ben Carson in the online catalog or by the title of the book. The library owns all three of Dr. Carson’s books, Gifted Hands, Big Picture and Thinking Big.

There has been a great deal of coverage in the news lately regarding President Bush’s use of signing statements. For a couple of examples, check out this Boston Globe article on the signing statement that was added to the bill banning torture that he signed a couple of weeks ago or listen to this NPR story that provides some general information on his use of signing statements.

Don’t just take what the media has to say face value, though. All the signing statements that presidents issue end up in the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. It is fairly easy to find signing statements issued by President Bush and by former President Clinton. The Government Printing Office has the Weekly compilation online back to 1993. From the main page you can search the Weekly Compilations that have been issued since the start of the year or you can click on the Search link to search any combination of years from 1993 to the present.

When you search you can just type in “statement on signing,” but that will return every statement on signing, which many times just includes a statement that says “I think this is a great law…” To find those statements that include interpretations of the law, try adding the term construe to your search string (so you search would be: “statement on signing” construe).

Now you can make your own decisions on the signing statements issued by Bush and you can compare them to those issued by Clinton. You can also look for signing statements issued by H.W. Bush, Reagan and other presidents, but to do that you will have to use the old fashion Weekly Compilation, which is located at the Steelcase Library, and look for the statements by hand.

The Senate Judiciary Committee began holding hearings on the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court today. Check out the library’s Government Resources website for links to the transcripts of the hearings as they are made available. For background information on Alito, go to the library’s Supreme Court Nomination Resources webpage. Here you’ll find a wide variety of resources on Alito and Bush’s previous nominees. Two of the best sources of information are provided by the New York Times (requires free registration) and the Library of Congress, but there are a number of other sources on Alito, the nomination process and past nominees.

The new year brings with it tax season and some changes for this year. The IRS has dropped GVSU from its tax form program. This means we will not receive any federal tax forms or publications from the IRS. This was a decision made by the IRS and is beyond the control of the University Libraries. In a cost-cutting move the IRS eliminated multiple distribution points within ZIP Codes and essentially passed the cost of printing forms and publications on to users and institutions like GVSU. This is something that is impacting libraries around the country and is, again, beyond our control.

We WILL be receiving Michigan tax forms and publications. Those should be sent out by the state in late January.

The easiest and fastest way to access tax forms and publications is through the library’s Tax Resources page. From this page you can access federal, state and local tax resources.

President Bush delivered his fourth speech today outlining his plan for victory in Iraq. The first three speeches, which were given on November 30, December 7 and December 12, were designed to accompany the National Security Council’s National Strategy for Victory in Iraq.

The document and accompanying speeches are what many see as a public relations push by the White House to turn around public opinion regarding the war leading up to this week’s Iraqi elections. Additional Presidential documents on Iraq can be found on the White House website.