National Women’s History Month has been officially celebrated nationwide since 1980. For more information about the women’s studies materials offered by the University Libraries, please visit our Women and Gender Studies library guide:  http://libguides.gvsu.edu/wgs.

The National Women’s History Project (NWHP) organizes and promotes Women’s History Month. For more information about the organization and for Women’s History Month activities, visit the NWHP website: http://www.nwhp.org/.

Do you love the Olympic Games? You can read more about the current games as well as the history of the Olympics in some of the following resources selected from the library’s databases.

• NewsBank Special Reports: 2010 Olympics – news on the current Olympic games, ceremonies, profiles of athletes, and more
• The Olympic Bidding Process – from the ‘Issues & Controversies’ database
• Olympic Boycotts – also from the ‘Issues & Controversies’ database
• The Evolution of Racial Identity in the Olympic Games – also from the ‘Issues & Controversies’ database

It’s tax season! We will not be receiving federal or state tax forms or publications this year. 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 forms.

On January 12th, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter Scale struck outside Haiti’s capital city, Port-au-Prince. The earthquake and its aftershocks caused devastating damage – initial estimates indicate that several hundred thousand people may have died due to this natural disaster.

For news coverage:

• NewsBank Special Report (requires GVSU login if off-campus)

For information about Haiti:

• CIA World Factbook profile on Haiti

For information about earthquakes:

• Wikipedia entry on the Richter Scale

• U.S. Geological Survey information on the Haiti earthquake

For information about responses to the Haitian earthquake:

• President Obama’s statement on the Haitian earthquake (video | text)

• Response from Raymond Alcide Joseph, ambassador of Haiti to the U.S. (video)

• USAID Response to the Haiti Earthquake

• European Commission Response to the Haiti Earthquake (pdf)

• United Nations Response to the Haiti Earthquake

For information about relief efforts, and how you can help:

• The American Red Cross is pledging an initial $200,000 to assist communities impacted by this earthquake. They expect to provide immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support. They are accepting donations through their International Response Fund.

• International Medical Corps is assembling a team of first responders and resources to provide lifesaving medical care and other emergency services to survivors of the earthquake. The IMC previously helped recovery efforts after September 2009′s earthquake in Sumatra, Indonesia, and the massive 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. Donate to the International Medical Corps through their 24-hour hotline at 800-481-4462.

• Oxfam is rushing in teams from around the region to respond to the situation to provide clean water, shelter, sanitation and help people recover.

• Additional organizations are listed at  The Huffington Post and Mashable.

Additionally – if you are looking for U.S. citizens Haiti, you may call the U.S. Department of State for information at 888-407-4747.

Thanks to Laura Carscaddon at the University of Arizona University Libraries for compiling these resources.