Word on the Street

A Look Back to Inauguration Day 1861

We're celebrating the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States with a look back at the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln. Enjoy two free downloads that offer a glimpse of what the 1861 inauguration was really like.

Taken from Images of the American Civil War is the photo seen here of Mary Todd Lincoln in her inaugural gown. With so much speculation as to what Michele Obama will be wearing today, you can compare the attire of each First Lady.

We've all heard of the similarities between Barack Obama and Lincoln, but even the preparations for their inauguration ceremonies have an eerie resemblance. The March, 1861 diary entry from Margaret Sumner McLean describes predictions that the Lincoln inauguration would not take place, the enhanced security surrounding Lincoln's arrival at the Capitol, and the preparations for a crisis. McLean also mentions how stunning Mrs. Lincoln looked in her ball gown, but notes that it was "the most unhappy day of her life." McLean's diary entry can be found in The American Civil War: Letters and Diaries.

Both of these items are available for free download at http://alexanderstreet.com/resources/featureditems.htm.

Celebrating Dr. King

To commemorate the life and achievements of Martin Luther King, Jr. Alexander Street is offering two free downloads from our online collections.

The "I Have a Dream..." button seen here is just one example of the type of material that will be available in our forthcoming title The Sixties.

Also available for download is an excerpt of Kenneth Bancroft Clark's chapter "The New Negro in the North" found in Unpublished Papers of Kenneth B. Clark found in the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress. Read Clark's examination of Dr. King's style of leadership, and how he believes it was more effective in the South. Libraries that subscribe to Black Thought and Culture can read Clark's work in its entirety.

Download these free resources now.

Join us at our ALA Roundtable Sessions

If you're attending the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Denver next week, please consider giving us an hour of your time in an Advisory Roundtable session. Although space is limited, there are still seats available in two separate sessions.

Our editors will be hosting informal gatherings to get your feedback and give you a sneak peek at our forthcoming collections. In exchange for your time and opinions, we'll give you the opportunity to win a one-year subscription—and if you attend multiple sessions your chances of winning will increase.

Seats are still available for the following sessions:

• The NEW Music Online
  
• Local And Regional History

All of our roundtable sessions will be held on Saturday, January 24 in our cozy, fireplace suite in The Magnolia Hotel.  For exact times, details, and to RSVP, please visit http://alexanderstreet.com/events/ALAmw09/roundtable_rsvp.htm.

We hope to see you at one or more of the roundtable sessions. You can also find us in the exhibit hall at our new island booth (#1924) or our comics booth (#1153).

Scheduled Downtime for Thursday, Jan. 8

Please note that we will be performing scheduled maintenance on all Alexander Street Press full-text collections on Thursday, January 8, 2009. Services may be disrupted sporadically between the hours of 9:00 PM and 3:00 AM EST/UTC-5. We apologize in advance for the inconvenience. No disruption is expected for any of the streaming music or streaming video collections.

If you would like to receive email alerts for scheduled maintenance in the future, please sign up at http://www.alexanderstreet.com/resources/contactupdate.htm

Thank you for your understanding. We hope to minimize the impact this downtime has your access to your collections.

If you have any questions please contact Customer Support.