Since You Asked

An Alaskan first?

2012-07-26T17:14:00.001-08:00

Question: What was the first Alaskan community to ban plastic bags?

Answer: The earliest plastic bag ban I was able to find in Alaska was Galena, which did indeed ban them in 1998. According to their municipal code, which you can access by choosing Municipal Code from their city website at http://www.ci.galena.ak.us/, Title 13.04.045 (A), “Plastic bags, used for carry out, in retail business shall be prohibited”. This refers to Ordinance 99-01, from 1998, for its authority. It seems like this might be the earliest such ban in the world. Does your Alaskan community ban their use? Do you know of an earlier one in Alaska or elsewhere? Please share in the comments.

Public Land Orders

2011-05-25T14:04:00.008-08:00

Question: Where can I find a Public Land Order?

Answer: Public Land Orders (“PLOs”) issued by the United States Department of the Interior are published in the Federal Register. The Department of Interior publishes tables identifying where in the Federal Register each PLO is published. You will need the approximate date of the PLO or the PLO number to use these tables. If the PLO was issued in or after 1994, you can find it in the Federal Register online using the citation you found in the PLO tables. In time, earlier issues of the Federal Register may become available online. If you know the title or subject of the PLO but don’t have the Federal Register citation or could not find it in the PLO tables, you can search the Federal Register using keywords from the title or subject. If you need a PLO published in the Federal Register before 1994 or could not find it using the above methods, check with your local Federal Depository Library.

Finding a Last Will and Testament in Alaska

2011-03-14T11:22:00.013-08:00

Question: My father lived in Juneau and he passed away a few years ago. I would like to find his will. Where do I start?

Answer: Below are several methods you can use to search for your father’s will. These are not necessarily all of the possible methods, and this information does not constitute legal advice. You may wish to consult a lawyer for assistance in matters concerning your father's death, his last will and testament, or his estate. The Alaska Bar Association offers a directory of bar members and a lawyer referral service.

If your father made a will, you may find a copy of it in Alaska’s court records. A person who has made a will in Alaska can deposit it with the court while they are still living. For more information about this process, navigate to Alaska Law Help's list of resources on wills, and click on the link titled “Depositing Your Will.”

In addition, if your father's estate was probated or subject to other types of court proceedings, you may find a copy of his will in the court case file. In Alaska, the Superior Court handles probate cases. To determine whether a case file relating to your father exists, search Alaska’s trial court case record database, called CourtView. Try entering just your father’s name to conduct a broad search. If you see your father’s name, you can identify the type of case he was involved in using letters in the case number. More information about case numbers is published at http://www.courts.alaska.gov/cvinfo.htm#numbers. Probate case numbers have “PR” as a suffix and case numbers representing the simple deposit of a will include “WI” as a suffix.

You can also contact the Superior Court for assistance in searching CourtView and ordering a copy of the will should you find a court case relating to your father’s will or estate. Contact information for the Superior Court in Juneau is published at http://www.courts.alaska.gov/ctrecs.htm#jun. Information about ordering court records is published at http://www.courts.alaska.gov/trialcts.htm#recs.

If a lawyer assisted your father with his will, the lawyer may have it. It is also possible that another member of the family may have the will, or it may still be among your father's belongings. People sometimes keep wills in safe deposit boxes, but since it has been years since your father’s death, such a box may no longer exist.

Building codes

2010-12-09T12:07:00.002-09:00

Question: Where do I find the Alaska building codes?

Answer: Like many states, Alaska relies heavily on uniform building codes. The precise codes that the state uses, as well as any changes or sections not employed, are listed in the Alaska Administrative Code: 13 AAC 50. The Alaska State Library maintains the current and previous two editions of the International Building Code and some other codes. For details, search our catalog.

The specific codes you need may be available at a library near you, but they usually are not available to be checked out. If they aren't available locally for you, you can request specific pages through interlibrary loan, or you can purchase a copy (or, much less expensively, purchase portions that relate to your specific needs). Just check your favorite local or online bookstore.

Alaskan historical census data

2010-12-02T12:01:00.002-09:00

Question: How many WWI veterans lived in Anchorage in 1970?

Answer: 82, according to "Table 102, Social Characteristics for Places of 10,000 - 50,000: 1970" found on page 3-135 of the US Census "General Social and Economic Characteristics: Alaska" from the 1970 Census.

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development/Research and Analysis Division has scanned and posted PDFs of Alaska related census reports from 1880, 1910 and 1940 through 1990 at http://labor.alaska.gov/research/census/cenhist.htm. These reports can include:

Number of Inhabitants
General Population Characteristics
Detailed Population Characteristics
General Social and Economic Characteristics

Alaska Census Data from 2000 and beyond can be located at http://labor.alaska.gov/research/census/

Presidential speeches

2010-11-23T15:13:00.004-09:00

Question: Where can I find the official version of the speech that President Ronald Reagan gave on the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger and the official version of the speech that President George W. Bush gave on the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia?

Answer: The official version of both speeches can be found in Public Papers of the Presidents as follows:

Address to the Nation on the Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger, January 28, 1986 - page 94-95 of:

Reagan, Ronald. 1989. Public papers of the Presidents of the United States Ronald Reagan. 1986. Washington: United States Government Printing Office.

Address to the Nation on the Loss of Space Shuttle Columbia, February 1, 2003 - page 119-120 of:

Bush, George W. 2006. Public papers of the presidents of the United States, George W. Bush: 2003. Washington: U.S. G.P.O.

President Bush's speech is also available electronically through the FDSys system at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PPP-2003-book1/pdf/PPP-2003-book1-doc-pg119.pdf.

Local Sales Taxes

2010-10-28T15:29:00.004-08:00

Question: How many communities in Alaska do NOT have a sales tax?

Answer: Currently, 253. You can verify this for yourself by visiting the Alaska Community Database Custom Data Queries at http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/dca/commdb/CF_CUSTM.htm and selecting all the communities in the left hand box and "sales tax" from the options in the right hand box. Save the file and open it up in your favorite spreadsheet. When we checked, 253 was the number of communities that report 0% tax rate, "No Taxing Authority" or "None".

Alaska's African American Newspapers

2010-10-07T12:39:00.006-08:00

Question: I would also be interested to know what black newspapers have been published in the state/territory of Alaska.

Answer: The Alaska State Library’s Guide to Alaska Newspapers on Microfilm identifies these titles as African American newspapers:

Anchorage Gazette
Anchorage Spotlight
Anchorage Town Crier
Crusader
Midnight Sun Reporter
New Horizon
North Star Reporter
Vox Populi

You can find more information about these titles in the Guide (linked above), under the "Anchorage" heading. The Alaska State Library’s collections include some issues of these newspapers on microfilm, but coverage is incomplete. Another post on this blog describes how to request our microfilm through interlibrary loan.

Girdwood's Glaciers

2010-09-24T10:00:00.004-08:00

Question: What are the names of the seven glaciers surrounding Girdwood, Alaska?

Answer: There are a large number of glaciers in the general vicinity of Girdwood, but the seven glaciers reference points to Crow Glacier, Raven Glacier, Eagle Glacier, Clear Glacier, Goat Glacier, Milk Glacier and Alyeska Glacier. Alyeska Resort's flightseeing page mentions other glaciers that are also within a relative short distance of Girdwood.

Health Insurance Data

2010-09-08T11:29:00.006-08:00

Question: Where can I find data on the cost for private sector employees to purchase health/medical insurance in Alaska?

Answer: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services compiles data on private sector health insurance costs at the State level. You can access the data at http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/. Here, you can find total premium costs by state per private sector employee, the average employee contribution, and many other data elements. Try clicking "Summary Data Tables" in the left navigation bar under "Data and Statistics," then scroll to the bottom of the page and choose "State and Metro Area Tables." You can limit the tables you’d like to retrieve by year, table “series,” table “subseries,” and keywords. Choosing the subseries "Premiums/Contributions/Enrollments" will retrieve tables identifying premium costs.

Auto and Small Engine Repair

2010-08-13T12:15:00.002-08:00

Question: My car keeps breaking down, and I don’t want to keep taking it to the mechanic. Do you know where I can find information on automotive repair? Also, I could have sworn that my snowmobile was working last winter; do you have anything for that too?

Answer: Why yes, yes we do. If you're an Alaska resident, the Digital Pipeline has the resources you’re asking about. Under “Resources A-Z” are the Auto Repair Reference Center and the Small Engine Repair Reference Center.

From the main page of the Auto Repair Reference Center you can find problems with your specific car, including recalls. They also have guides for general car troubleshooting, care and repair, and auto IQ. The auto IQ section is especially helpful for those of us who don’t entirely know where everything is located, or what a part actually does.

The Small Engine Repair Reference Center works similarly. Select the type of small engine you need information on (snowmobile, snow thrower, tractor, etc), then narrow it down by make and model.

Redistributing Federal Documents

2010-08-06T11:01:00.003-08:00

Question: There is a federal bill that I’m interested in, and I want to share it with my colleagues through email and a listserv. Where can I find a copy that I can send around without worrying about copyright issues?

Answer: We’ve already talked a bit about the wonderfulness of the Library of Congress’s THOMAS, where you can search for individual bills by bill number, text, or sponsor. But did you know they offered full-text of each available bill?

Once you've found the bill you need, THOMAS will send you on to the Government Printing Office, where you can download a pdf of the bill. Since these are published by the federal government, they fall under public domain and you can distribute them to your heart’s desire.

Alaskan songs

2010-07-30T14:00:00.000-08:00

Question: Could you help me find the lyrics and a recording for Aleut Lullaby and O'er the Tundra?

Answer: It looks like these songs can be found in the book:

CACHE OF SONGS FOR ALASKA. Delaware, Ohio. Cooperative Recreation Service, Inc., 1959. 80 p. (Includes words and music for several Alaska songs: Alaska's Flag; Aleut Lullaby; Song of the North; Alaska, My Alaska; Home on the Snow; O'er the Tundra; Our Alaska; Kusehani; Spirit of Alaska.).

According to our finding aid, we have this songbook in our Historical Collections, MS075, but it cannot be checked out. You can contact our Historical Collections directly with any questions at asl.historical@alaska.gov or 907-465-2925. It looks like the book is also available through some used book dealers.

I haven't found any CDs with both of these songs. I have found An Aleut Lullaby as a CD or download, but I don't know if it's the same song as Aleut Lullaby. I didn't find any recordings of O'er the Tundra, but have found some of She'll Be Coming O'er the Tundra. Again, I don't know if this refers to the same song or not. For either of these titles, trying putting the song title in quotes in your favorite internet search engine to find purchasing options.

Good luck in learning about Alaska's musical heritage!

Earthquakes in Alaska

2010-07-23T06:04:00.003-08:00

Question: I live in Alaska, and am worried about the ground exploding and things falling on my head. Where can I find information about fault lines and earthquakes in Alaska?

Answer: Not to worry! We have you covered.

The Alaska Earthquake Information Center has plenty of information about our earthquakes, including a list of notable earthquakes and a preparedness guide.

Inside the section titled “Earthquake Info” are maps showing the location Alaska’s fault lines, shown as red lines. http://www.aeic.alaska.edu/html_docs/maps.html
Fault lines are also shown in their FAQ page http://www.aeic.alaska.edu/html_docs/faq.html

If you’d like to see where the most recent earthquakes happened, they have an often updated map showing activity for the past few days. http://www.aeic.alaska.edu/recent/sub/index.html

For additional information about earthquakes, visit the U.S. Geological Survey’s earthquake page: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/

Language learning online

2010-07-16T13:15:00.001-08:00

Question: Do you offer any foreign language courses that I can take on my own?

Answer: We offer foreign language resources in a variety of formats. Some are available to all, either through the State Library directly or through interlibrary loan:

Books
Tapes
CDs
Playaways (preloaded digital players)

We also have some online materials that are available to Alaska State Library patrons (including all employees of the State of Alaska) and those of our partner libraries. These include:

If you think that you should be eligible to use any of these materials, but are having difficulty finding, accessing, or using the resources, please contact us at the Alaska State Library.

US Fish & Fisheries Commission Annual Reports

2010-07-09T10:00:00.004-08:00

Question: I am interested in researching the annual reports from the Commission of Fish and Fisheries from 1880 through the 1890's. According to the records of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, NARA has them in microfiche. How can I get the information for my research?

Answer: In this case, you will not need the microfiche because the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has posted the annual reports of the United States Fish and Fisheries Commission (AKA United States Fish Commission) online at http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/cof/data_rescue_fish_commission_annual_reports.html. These reports cover the date range of 1871 - 1979 with some gaps in between. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the PDF files.

Any green thumbs?

2010-06-25T12:04:00.001-08:00

Question: I would like to know what causes the leaves to fall off the Oriental Lily. My plant is losing leaves every day and will have no more leaves to drop.

Answer: Generally speaking, the Cooperative Extension Service is a great resource for help caring for plants given your local conditions. In Alaska, they offer an Ask an Expert service covering a variety of subjects, including gardening. See: http://www.uaf.edu/ces/info/askexpert/

However, I didn't find any information on this topic already published on their website. From what I've seen on other sites, Oriental Lilies normally die back once they've bloomed, so losing leaves may be a normal part of the plant cycle. There are many free sites available that provide a wealth of information on caring for Oriental Lilies. I recommend using your favorite internet search engine with the terms: <"oriental lily"> and and . For example, with Google type in:
"oriental lily" plants care

If you want to avoid commercial sites, with loads of advertising, try limiting the search to educational or governmental sites by adding either or to your search.

Library services in Alaska

2010-06-15T11:51:00.004-08:00

Question: I'll be moving to Alaska soon and the area I'm moving to doesn't have library services. Is there a way I can access library services through the state library, and if so, how?

Answer: Alaska has a mail services, or regional services, program for residents with no local public libraries. This program is administered through the Juneau Public Libraries for Southeast Alaska, and through the Fairbanks North Star Borough Public Libraries for the rest of the state. For more information about the program and to apply, see http://www.juneau.org/library/mailserv/.

Finding Congressional activity

2010-05-28T11:47:00.000-08:00

Question: How do I find what occurred in the US Congress on September 11, 2001?

Answer: One method is to use Thomas from the Library of Congress. Click on:

"Congressional Record", currently on the left hand side of the page, then
"Browse Daily Issues", currently to the right of "Search the Congressional Record", then
"107" for the daily listing of the 107th Congress. We know that this is the correct Congress because the years 2001-2002 are listed at the top.

You will find September 11, 2001, towards the bottom of the page with links to the floor activity in the House, extensions on remarks made in congress, and a digest summary of the day's activities. There doesn't seem to have been any floor activity in the Senate on that day, but if there were, that would have been listed too.

2010-05-21T14:49:00.000-08:00

Question: What was the population of Aniak in 1950? What was the population of Juneau in 1960?

Answer: Alaska's Department of Labor and Workforce Development offers some U.S. Census reports and data for Alaska for 1900 through 1990 at http://labor.alaska.gov/research/census/cenhist.htm. Here is a direct link to the 1960 report, which includes some of the 1950 data as well: http://labor.alaska.gov/research/census/histpdfs/1960ak.pdf. Table 8 lists cities and towns in alphabetical order, and there, you fill find 1950 and 1960 population data for Aniak and Juneau. More recent data is available from the U.S. Census Bureau's web site. Try using the population finder at http://www.census.gov/population/www/.

Finding Old Alaska USGS Reports

2010-05-14T09:01:00.000-08:00

Question: Where would I find a copy of Marcus Baker's Geographic Dictionary of Alaska? I think it was published in the early 1900s by the US Geological Survey.

Answer: While this dictionary is available in paper at a number of libraries, including ours, thanks to the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, you can also find this report online at http://www.dggs.alaska.gov/pubs/pubs?reqtype=citation&ID=3362. This is one of many historic USGS reports that have been digitized by the Division. You can search or browse for more of this historic material at http://www.dggs.alaska.gov/index.php?menu_link=publications&link=publications_search.

Contacting Social Security

2010-05-07T08:41:00.000-08:00

Question: How can I locate the nearest Social Security Office?

Answer: Visit the Social Security Administration website at http://www.ssa.gov and click on Find a Social Security Office in the left hand column of the site. Then type in your zip code. You will be given one or more offices near you. Each office entry has local and toll free phone numbers, along with the office address and a map showing the area near the office.

The Fifty-Niners

2010-04-09T13:59:00.001-08:00

Question: Could provide me with some information on the Alaska 59ers?

Answer: In March of 1959, two months after Alaska became a state, a group of about three dozen people, primarily from the Detroit area, left the lower-48 to homestead in Alaska. They settled along the Susitna River. In the articles that follow they are called the “Detroit 59ers” or simply just the “Fifty-Niners.”

Smith, William E. In Alaska: Homesteading. Time, 12 November 1984. Available at ttp://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,926918,00.html (Accessed on February 26, 2010).

Alaska: Call of the Wild. Time, 11 May 1959. Available at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,865796,00.html (Accessed on February 26, 2010).

Zacharias, Pat. Detroit 59ers – Alaska or Bust! The Detroit News, 5 March 1998. Available at http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=69 (Accessed on February 26, 2010).

The 59’ers Find Promised Land. Life, 20 April 1959, p. 141. Available at http://books.google.com/books?id=W0gEAAAAMBAJ&source=gbs_all_issues_r&cad=3 (Accessed on February 26, 2010). You will need to browse to page 141 to view this article, which also includes photographs.

Coen, Ross. Alaska or Bust! The Ester Republic, March 2009, p. 25. This article is not available freely on the internet.

Non-Newtonian Fluids

2010-02-26T10:00:00.003-09:00

Question: I am teaching a high school class about non-newtonian fluids. Could you direct me to some cool facts and experiments on the subject?

Answer: "Interesting Thing of the Day" at http://itotd.com/articles/624/non-newtonian-fluids/ provides a background on the discovery and varieties of non-newtonian fluids . At the bottom you will find a number of useful links. Perhaps the most fun are the YouTube experiment videos. The viscosity chart further clarifies the distinctions between the different types of fluids. Students may be interested in the links to geophysical diagrams and the MIT research group's page on man made and naturally occurring examples.

A step-by-step guide to an easy experiment is found on Instructables at http://www.instructables.com/id/Oobleck/. The lesson is directed at elementary kids, but the concept applies to all ages. Non-newtonian fluid is sometimes referred to as an Oobleck based on Dr. Seuss' book Bartholomew and the Oobleck. This lesson incorporates the book into the experiment.

In addition, videos of reproducible experiments can be found on "TutorVista.com" at http://www.tutorvista.com/ks/non-newtonian-fluid-dynamics and "Wonder How To" at http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-non-newtonian-fluid-cornstarch-quicksand-home-249081/.

List of Americans Who Have Renounced Citizenship

2010-02-19T11:13:00.003-09:00

Question: I would like to see if someone has or has not renounced their US citizenship. I think there is a list published each year. Where are those lists?

Answer: The list is called "Quarterly Publication of Individuals, Who Have Chosen To Expatriate" and is published quarterly by the Internal Revenue Service in the Federal Register.

To view all lists published so far, visit www.fdsys.gov and type in "Quarterly Publication of Individuals, Who Have Chosen To Expatriate" into the search box. The list appears to have been first produced in January 1997. As of this writing, the latest list of individuals was published in November 2009.

You may well wonder why this list of individuals who have sworn off allegiance to the United States is published by the Internal Revenue Service and not by the State Department, especially when it is the State Department that issues the "Certificate of Lost Nationality" that results when a person has gone through the difficult process of renouncing their US Citizenship.

The reason for the IRS handling the list is because the 1996 law (PL 104-191, Title V, Sec 512(a)) was passed in an atmosphere where it was assumed that tax evasion was the number one reason for renouncing one's US citizenship.

If you live in Alaska, you can get a flavor of this climate by visiting the Digital Pipeline at http://sled.alaska.edu/databases/home.html and typing in [renounce citizenship taxes].