Senator John W. Drummond: The Story of a South Carolinian, Military Hero, and Statesman by Richard D. Young, Director of Research for the Institute of Public Service and Policy Research of the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina, is a carefully documented history of a major figure in South Carolina politics.  Drummond retired from the South Carolina General Assembly June 5, 2008 after 41 years of service to that legislative group and at the age of 88.  But his service to his state and country began much earlier.

Young’s history begins with Drummond’s early years, including his time as a pilot in World War II.  Drummond’s plane had crashed near Gieville, France in 1944 and he was captured by the Germans.  He was liberated after VE-day in 1945.  During his year as a POW he was housed with other Americans, black and white, and he later mused that it was “an education, the best education about life and living I could have.”  Years later Gieville treated the military man who had fought to save France with a ceremony, banquet, and special gifts dug up from the crash area.

Young interrupts the account of this man to report on the social, political, and economic picture of South Carolina 1945 to 2006.  This is the author’s specialty, so the pages fly by with a concise yet detailed picture of what was happening while Drummond returned to citizenship.  The Senator’s life continues with marriage, family, store ownership, then manager and owner of successful oil businesses, before he enters a life in the South Carolina legislature.  Durmmond was elected as a Representative from Greenwood in 1964 and then as a Senator in 1967.  He remained in this body until his retirement.  As a tribute to his forty-one years of service to the state the South Carolina Senate adopted SJ-8, a Senate Resolution to commend the Honorable John W. Drummond, of Greenwood County on April 30, 2008.  Drummond retired from the South Carolina Legislature this past June.

Young’s account of this state servant is a worthy rememberance and an enjoyable read.  The State Library has copies of the book available for checkout.  Electronic versions of the version that appeared in the Institute’s journal Public Policy and Practice are available at http://www.ipspr.sc.edu/ejournal/Archives0711.asp.

                The U.S. Department of the Defense has been documenting the Vietnam Conflict from the perspective of the military commanders and now has several publications to offer researchers, former military and interested public.  The latest book in the series is MACV: The Joint Command in the Years of Withdrawal, 1968-1973 (D 114.7/3:J 66).  This is the second volume by the Center for Military History to examine the Vietnam conflict from the perspective of the theater commander and his headquarters. It traces the conflict from the Communist Tet offensive of 1968 through the disestablishment of MACV in March 1973.  Over the years the role of the military evolved beyond military operations to diplomacy and pacification.  Abundant photographs are included, as are a table of troop redeployments, charts and maps.  Other titles by DOD on the Vietnam Conflict include: 

Combat operations : stemming the tide, May 1965 to October 1966 / by John M. Carland.     (D 114.7/3:C 73/2)
Reorganizing for pacification support / by Thomas W. Scoville.  (D 114.2  11/999)
Combat operations : taking the offensive, October 1966 to October 1967 / George L. MacGarrigle.   ( D 114.7/3:OF 3)
Public affairs : the military and the media, 1968-1973 / by William M. Hammond.  (D 114.7/3  96/968-73)
U.S. Marines in Vietnam : the bitter end, 1973-1975 / by George R. Dunham and David A. Quinlan.  (D 214.13:V 67/973-75)
U.S. Marines in Vietnam : the war that would not end, 1971-1973 / by Charles D. Melson and Curtis G. Arnold.  (D 214.13:V 67/971-73)
Records relating to American prisoners of war and missing in action from the Vietnam War / compiled by Charles E. Schamel.   ( D 221.1:SE 1)
Marines and military law in Vietnam : trial by fire / by Gary D. Solis.   (D 214.13:V 67/3)
Public affairs : the military and the media, 1962-1968 / by William M. Hammond.   (D 114.7/3  96/962-68|zD 114.7/3  96)
The war in South Vietnam : the years of the offensive, 1965- 1968 / John Schlight.   (D 301.86/2:V 67)
Advice and support : the final years, 1965-1973 / by Jeffrey J. Clarke.   ( D 114.7/3:Ad 9/965-73 )                           
Military communications : a test for technology / by John D. Bergen.    (D 114.7/3:C 73)
U.S. marines in Vietnam : Vietnamization and redeployment, 1970-1971 / by Graham A. Cosmas and Terrence P. Murray ; edited by William R. Melton and Jack Shulimson.   (D 214.13:V 67/970-71)
Images of a lengthy war / by Joel D. Meyerson.    ( D 114.7/3:Im 1)

These titles are available for checkout or use in the library.   

At a recent conference I was intrigued by a presentation on Daniel Pink’s book A Whole New Mind.  So I checked out the State Library’s copy to learn more, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is curious about the skills that will be needed in the 21^st century workforce.

Pink argues that we are moving from an Information Age that is dominated by left-brain thinking to a Conceptual Age that requires more right-brain thinking.  The left side of the brain is sequential, logical, and analytical while the right side is nonlinear, intuitive, and holistic.  Jobs in the United States that reward left-brain skills are being challenged today by three factors: abundance, Asia, and automation.  The abundance of products available means that consumer choice is not made on functionality alone but on features such as design or appeal to emotion, requiring employers to hire people with better design skills.  Many jobs that require left-brain skills, such as computer programming and accounting, are rapidly being outsourced to Asia, where labor is much cheaper.  And automation is replacing jobs requiring logic, calculation, and sequential thinking with computers that work faster than humans.

In the new Conceptual Age we need to supplement our high-tech abilities with abilities that are high concept and high touch.  According to Pink, “High concept involves the ability to create artistic and emotional beauty, to detect patterns and opportunities, to craft a satisfying narrative, and to combine seemingly unrelated ideas into a novel invention.  High touch involves the ability to empathize, to understand the subtleties of human interaction, to find joy in one’s self and to elicit it in others, and to stretch beyond the quotidian, in pursuit of purpose and meaning.”

So how do we become more right brained?  By mastering six high-concept, high-touch senses:

• Design-creating something that is not just functional, but beautiful and emotionally engaging

• Story-persuading and communicating by fashioning a compelling narrative that goes beyond logical argument

• Symphony-synthesizing, seeing the big picture, and putting disparate pieces into a whole

• Empathy-understanding what makes our fellow man or woman tick,  forging relationships, and caring for others

• Play-using laughter, lightheartedness, games, and humor

• Meaning-pursuing desires that go beyond the material, such as purpose and spiritual fulfillment

If you want to read more, A Whole New Mind is available for checkout at the State Library. 

More than 200 print and electronic state documents were added to the State Library state documents collection during September.  Some particularly interesting publications that were part of the Depository System (Sufficient copies for depository libraries) included:

Divorce and the law.  SC Bar Association. (J8987B 2.D48)  This is a brief but informative brochure on the grounds for and process of obtaining a divorce in South Carolina.  There is no “divorce form” available through the courts, and individuals are advised to seek legal counsel for this procedure.

Jasper County Natural Resources Conservation Plan Department of Natural Resources (N2197 2.J17) This is a beautifully illustrated book of the status and history of various types of resources in Jasper County and outlines strategies and recommendations to preserve them in light of growing urbanization.

Quick Guide for Riverine Floodplains, Development, and Maps.  Department of natural Resources (N2197 2.Q84) This is a very usable guide covering the basics of watersheds and floodplains and showing factors to consider when development is proposed.  The pages are sturdy and secured in a spiral comb that allows the pages to lie flat.  It includes lots of graphs, statistics, bulleted items and drawings to illustrate important aspects.

Items added as electronic formats include:

General Records Retention Schedules for:

  Municipal Records

  County Records

  State Colleges and Universities

  State Agency Administrative Records

  State Agency Financial Records

  State Agency Personnel Records

  State Agency Data Processing and Electronic Records

S.C. Public Libraries Annual Statistics SCSL

www.statelibrary.sc.gov/scedocs/L6265/000459.pdf

Complete lists of items added to the documents collection for the month are posted on the State Documents Depository Shipping List and the South Carolina State Library - New Documents Not in Depository System.  For information on the South Carolina State Documents Depository System contact Elaine Sandberg, Government Documents Librarian.

            State Library staff is busy learning to scan and make digitized publications available through our online catalog!  The first project is reports from the Certified Public Manager participants, since these documents are easy to dismantle, scan, and reassemble.  Participants in the CPM program often ask for copies of these reports, either to check out or to see online.  To date the library hasn’t been able to offer either service, since our print copy cannot leave the library.  Soon the reports will be available in digital format through WebLion. 

The August edition of New Resources@SCSL is now available online!

Browse new books, documents, and articles available at the South Carolina State Library on Business Communication, Digital Publishing/Photography, Education, Environment, Management, Public Health, Social Work, and South Carolina.

One of our valuable electronic resources, the Thomson Gale’s PowerSearch platform, has a number of new, key features. With Powersearch, you can search up to 10 databases at once, including Academic OneFile, Custom Newspapers, Health Reference Center Academic, and the Gale Virtual Reference Library.

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