Alaskan songs

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

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

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:

• Downloadable audiobooks and ebooks (Listen Alaska Plus)
• ebooks to read (mostly ebrary)
• Mango Languages online classes

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

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.