Your Information Resources are Online @ the Library

By Librarians Marjorie Brekke and Ron Hopp

Information is all around us. So much so, in fact, that “information overload” is a reality of early 21st century life. In order to help you navigate through the information world, the Rapid City Public Library provides useful information online – database resources you can access from your home or office, online information about library events and programs, and relevant local history information, covering the 1972 flood.

Check out the library’s web page at www.rapidcitylibrary.org; there you’ll find our “Digital Library” links on the right side of the page. The most noticeable link is for the library’s RSS feed. RSS stands for “really simple syndication,” and is a convenient way to automatically receive updates from selected websites. By subscribing to the library’s RSS feed, you can stay up to date on all our events and activities.

Another popular online resource is Overdrive, which provides downloadable audiobooks. If you travel, downloadable audiobooks are a great way to pass the time; they’re very much like books on CD, but can be downloaded to either your mp3 player or computer.

If you would like to find some ideas for new and different books to read, our LibraryThing page might just be the ticket. LibraryThing is a social networking resource that allows people to list and review books, and get ideas of other books to read. The staff at RCPL have included reviews of their favorite reads, so that you can get even more ideas for your own reading lists.

If you’re interested in viewing photos or videos of popular library events, check out the library’s Flickr and YouTube sites; the photos and videos archived there let you experience an event you missed, or to see it again even if you did attend.

To help you find websites on a variety of subjects, the del.ici.ous (pronounced “delicious”) page has numerous sites for you to try; the sites range from books and reading to tourism, elections, genealogy, weather, and countless other topics. Think of del.icio.us as your one stop shop for online links.

In order to share information with a variety of audiences, the library also hosts MySpace and Facebook pages; those sites are also linked through the digital library. These sites also feature library events and activities, books and great reads, as well as links to other information resources. Facebook is one of our newest online additions; if you’re a member of Facebook, be sure to become a “fan” on our page, and we can send you updates and invitations to upcoming events.

One of our online features that has tremendous local impact is the 1972 Flood web page; this link is also found on the library’s home page under the Digital Resources listings. Eighteen interviews with flood survivors are posted on that page; thirteen of those have been added recently, so if you haven’t visited the page lately we encourage you to do so.

In listening to the flood interviews, several similarities and differences become apparent. All of those interviewed share a connection – their experiences surviving the nation’s second-worst inland flood in history. Many of the survivors mention the strange-colored dark sky during the afternoon hours, the rising water, people trapped in trees, and the heavy fog covering the city on the morning after the flood.

Also noticeable in the interviews are the differences in each person’s individual stories regarding their experiences with the disaster and its aftermath. People like Kim and Barb Gary, for example, narrate a story of their time staying in a cabin near East Blvd. and Omaha Street. As the floodwaters swamped the cabin, Barb found herself clinging to a tree while her husband Kim was swept downstream and later returned to find his wife. Herb Cleveland, Chief of Chaplains at Fort Meade in 1972, tells another perspective of the event; he provided spiritual and emotional comfort to the family members of National Guard members killed by the flood. Another Rapid Citian, Jerry Wright, describes his experiences driving around Rapid City with his brother trying to assist people stranded by the storm. Each person interviewed for the digital flood archive shares many of their emotional experiences, making this a resource not to be missed.

The flood page also features more than 100 pictures comparing the aftermath of the flood to the landscape 20 years later; comments from former mayor Don Barnett; and other reports from KOTA broadcasting. Anyone with memories to share is encouraged to add those to the site.

Visit us online at www.rapidcitylibrary.org to view any of our online resource sites for information, entertainment, and to find about the life-altering experiences of the 1972 flood.