How to Clean Stuff

Spring is here and summer is just around the corner. For many of us, it is the time of year for cleaning house. Whether you need a refresher course for all those things your mother taught you but you ignored, or want to find new ways to clean to save money or to save the environment, there are resources available.

• If the clutter in your home is making it difficult to get started with spring cleaning, take a look at Clutter Control! Useful Tips for Getting Rid of the Mess, compiled by Susan Wright (TX 124 .C32 1999). Each chapter addresses a separate area of the house and the clutter found there. This is a short, quick introduction to cleaning out the mess.

• Once the clutter has been tackled and you want to start in on the actual cleaning and scrubbing, we have Mrs. Meyer's Clean Home: No-nonsense advice that will inspire you to clean like the dickens by Thelma A. Meyer (TX 298 .M42 2009) and Natural Cleaning for Your Home by Casey Kellar (TX 324 .K44 1998). These two books give general cleaning advice for the home, from washing the floors to making the bed and doing laundry.

• For advice about hard-to-clean objects, the Arkansas State Library has How Do I Clean the Moosehead? by Don Aslett (TX 324 .A7582 1989). In addition to the moose head in the title, Aslett answers questions such as "What's the best kind of scrub brush?," "How often should I empty the vacuum bag?," and "Is there an easy way to clean the ceiling?" The advice is given with humor and cartoon drawings, making this a fun ready about a messy topic.

• If you have a specific question and prefer using the Internet, try How to Clean Stuff. This searchable website has answers to a wide range of questions, provided by users. Readers can rate the advice on a scale of 1-5 stars and leave comments or addition questions.
  

For these and other resources, come by the Arkansas State Library. And have fun cleaning!

The Secret History of Art

The history of how a work of art came to a museum is often just as interesting as the piece of art itself. Here are two books from our circulating collection that delve into those histories:

According to Sharon Waxman in Loot: The Battle over the Stolen Treasures of the Ancient World, the history of major works of antiquity is often shrouded in politics, money and influence. In recent years, museums as revered as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the British Museum in London, and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles have been forced to return art and antiquities to the countries of origin. Waxman follows the often contentious histories, conflicts, and arguments that enmesh these and other museums today. If you are interested in antiquities or art, museums and the people who work there, this would be a good book for you.

The Caravaggio Conspiracy by Peter Watson provides a first person account of the illegal art trade in Italy. In an attempt to follow the flow or stolen art, Watson turned himself into an art buyer who was not particularly concerned with how the art he was acquiring arrived in his hands. Backed up by auction houses, dealers, policemen, and even a priest, Watson traced a stolen Caravaggio and then a work by the 15th century artist Andrea Del Sarto.

The Arkansas State Library also has other books on art, and art theft, including The Rape of Europa by Lynn H. Nicholas and Fake : the story of Elmyr de Hory ; the greatest art forger of our time by Clifford Irving.

Resources for Students with Disabilities

The Arkansas State Library has a wide range of materials available for the public and for educators, including resources that can help students and teachers improve educational opportunities for students with disabilities. I was alerted to one website recently by a patron, and was prompted to find others. Here is that website, along with another informational publication and two books that are available here at the library.

• The DO-IT website from the University of Washington. DO-IT stands for Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology, and the program "serves to increase the participation of individuals with disabilities in challenging academic programs and careers. It promotes the use of computer and networking technologies to increase independence, productivity, and participation in education and employment." The website provides information about the programs and camps offered for students, as well as links to the many free publications for students, parents and educators. There is so much information hidden behind the plain website front (designed to be easily read by people with visual impairments) that I can't even begin to go into it all here.

• As a government repository, the Arkansas State Library gets copies and access to all the publications put out by the federal government, including those for students with disabilities and educators who serve them. One of these is Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities. This is available on the internet, or through our catalog. This particular pamphlet focuses on the civil rights of students with disabilities who wish to continue their education by going to college or other postsecondary educational programs.
  

• If you are visual impaired, and have decided to go to college or another educational program, Funding for Persons With Visual Impairments by Gail Ann Schlachter and R. David Weber is a good starting place. This book provides a list of scholarships, fellowships, loans, grants, awards and internships that may be available to you. Some of the funding sources are location specific, such as those offered by the various states, while others are open to a wide range of applicants. Some of the sources are also available for deaf or deaf-blind students.

• The materials at the Arkansas State Library also include resources for students with learning disabilities. The Complete Learning Disabilities Directory from Grey House Publishing has contact information and short summaries for thousands of associations, newsletters, publishers, products & services, and websites directed at students, parents and professionals. The K&W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities from The Princeton Review has information about colleges in each state that have accomodations for students with learning disabilities, including the admissions policies and services available. Both of these books are available in the reference section of the library for in-house use.
  

Cruising Guides

Spring is here, or arriving, and your thoughts may be turning to vacation. If you are considering taking a cruise for that vacation, the Arkansas State Library has just received two new books that may be of interest to you.

The first is Cruising: All Questions Answered by Douglas Ward. For cruising neophytes, this book offers advice and information about how to choose your destination, the various cruise lines, how to book a cruise, how to save money on the cruise, and what to do once you are on board. There are hundreds of full color photographs in the book, many maps of destinations, and a ship comparison chart.

Ward has also written a more in-depth guide to many of the cruise ships themselves: Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2009. The introduction contains much of the same information as the previous book, but the bulk of the books 688 pages are devoted to detailed reviews and overviews of the many cruise ships in the industry. Each review includes a summary of the ship's size and accommodations, crew/passenger ratio and so on, as well as a score and star rating. The various dining facilities, accommodation options, entertainment, and fitness options are explored in more depth for each ship.