If you have ideas for books or movies you think the Library should own, try the Suggest a Book form. A librarian will review your suggestion and let you know our decision. If we order the book, we will give you the option of being the first to check it out. How’s that for service?
Whatcha reading?, our new category, is all about you. We want to know what you’re reading. Think of this as a chance to let other people know about a good book (or a bad one) that you’re reading. It’s kind of like an informal virtual book club, except we’re not all reading the same book. Use the comments section to voice your opinions on your latest read.
OK, I’ll go first. I’m currently in the process of reading a book in Spanish entitled “La Sombra del Viento” (The Shadow of the Wind), written by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. The book takes place in Barcelona in the 1940s, a very difficult era in Spain’s history due to the recent end of the Spanish Civil War and the start of Franco’s dictatorship. The protagonist, Daniel, finds this secret ‘Library of Forgotten Books’ and becomes enthralled with a particular book. Zafon’s novel follows Daniel’s ten-year obsession with the fictitious book and its author. As I said, I haven’t finished the book, but I’ll let you know my thoughts when I’m all done - and don’t worry, there’s an English translation.
With the surge of web 2.0 (what’s web 2.0) technologies like blogs, wikis, social networking sites, comes the development of services that make life easier. RSS feeds fall into that category by allowing you to quickly view new additions to your favorite websites without visiting each one individually. You can subscribe to our blog’s RSS feed, or any other feed for that matter, in a number of ways.
One way to maximize your time with RSS feeds is to use an RSS aggregrator. Bloglines and Google Reader are examples of web-based applications that I use - you can create a free account and easily add feeds. The feeds will display any new items in a similar fashion to an e-mail account. There are also for-fee services, desktop applications and e-mail-based agregators as well. DMOZ Open Directory Project provides a listing of such services.
If you don’t feel like paying money or creating yet another online account, newer web browsers have the RSS readers built right in. Here’s how to subscribe to feeds with Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox:
Do you use this option in your broswer? Or do you use a web-based aggregator? Which one do you use? Like I said, I know of Bloglines and Google Reader, but I’m sure there’s more out there.
The Library is pleased to announce our newest electronic resource, SRDS Media Solutions! If you’ve taken a marketing or advertising class, you may already be somewhat familiar with SRDS. The company publishes titles critical to advertising and marketing, containing information about circulation, media profiles, advertising rates and much more. We previously received these titles in print, but the electronic subscription will replace those copies.
The online version greatly resembles the print edition. Through our subscription, you’ll have access to the following titles: Business Publication Advertising Source®, Consumer Magazine Advertising Source®, Direct Marketing List Source®, Newspaper Advertising Source®, Radio Advertising Source® and TV and Cable Source®.
Have you used SRDS publications before? What information did you get from them? Try the online version and let us know what you think!
The tragic events of September 11, 2001 impacted the way of life for many Americans. From government agencies to law enforcement, changes have been implemented to prepare for the next disaster.
The National Institute of Justice utilized the knowledge of experts related to the field of forensic sciences who have experience with the events of September 11th to publish their findings of “lessons learned” in the policies and procedures of identifying victims who perished in the World Trade Center attacks. These experts discuss “DNA protocols, laboratory techniques, and statistical approaches” for officials who deal directly with mass fatality incidents. Covering such issues as the basics of DNA identification, major decisions for officials and forensic experts to make during the mass fatality event, information technology used in each procedure, how to properly conduct media sessions, establishing relationships between those identifying the bodies and the victims’ families, how to report accurate statistics and findings, and how to maintain quality control in a DNA laboratory.
If you’re a forensics, biology, or a criminal justice student, or just curious about DNA procedures, check out this government documents publication.
The University Library is a federal depository with many federal, state, local, and international documents on a variety of current and relevant issues available to you in print, microfiche, CD-ROM, and electronically. Come check out your government at the University Library!
It’s that time of the week again… New Stuff Tuesday! This week it’s all about people and our social nature.
Herd:
How to Change Mass Behaviour by Harnessing Our True Nature
Mark Earls
HF5415.123 .E37 2007
New Book Island, 2nd floor
This intriguing book, written by a leading thinker in consumer behavior, covers a whole lot of ground. Although this book centers around the principle of mass behavior and its effects on advertising and marketing, it quickly moves from the idea of the group versus individual mentality to the keys of “herd marketing,” such as interaction, influence, and letting go. What’s great about the book is the use of real-world examples as illustrations, like urinal etiquette to describe unspoken rules about choosing the correct point of relief, if you will. Bet you didn’t see that coming, did you?
This Changes Everything:
The Relational Revolution in Psychology
Christina Robb
HM1106 .R63 2007
New Book Island, 2nd floor
Christina Robb, former Boston Globe reporter & Pultizer Prize winner, delves into relational psychology and the women who causes this fundamental shift in thinking. This pioneering group — Carol Gilligan, Jean Baker Miller & Judith Lewis Herman — asserted that relationships serve ad the foundation for our psychological wellbeing, not the Freudain camp’s Sense of Self. This provides the “missing link between feminist politics and female reality.” (Jennifer Baumgardner). So did it really change everything? Find out for yourself.
Do you know what Ask?Away is? Then Ask?Away Awareness Week is for you!
Here at UW-Whitewater, we call it Ask-a-Librarian, so don’t feel bad if you didn’t know. Ask-a-Librarian allows you to get help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We participate in a consortium of libraries all over the world to offer this service available whenever you are. If you’re up pulling an all-nighter and you get stuck while doing research, then there’s a librarian to help you (they’ll probably be in Australia because we’ll be sleeping).
The hours in which the librarians at Whitewater are online are posted on the Ask-a-Librarian page. You can start chatting or send us an e-mail from this page.
The great thing about government information is that there is no copyright. What does this mean? It means that tech-savvy people can create really cool and useful websites using government information.
US Presidential Speeches Tag Cloud
Chirag Mehta developed this tag cloud (what’s a tag cloud?) by taking over 350 presidential speeches dating back to 1776 and analyzing the words used in those speeches. The result is a visually and intellectually stimulating representation of presidential vocabulary. bigger = used more frequently ; brighter = used more recently. From this, you quickly know that Lincoln liked to reference the Constitution, Franklin Delano Roosevelt concentrated on the nation’s economy, and George W. Bush talks a lot about terrorists. Pretty cool, huh?
The University Library is a federal depository with many federal, state, local, and international documents on a variety of current and relevant issues available to you in print, microfiche, CD-ROM, and electronically. Come check out your government at the University Library!
You never know what you’re going to find when you browse the sciences section of the stacks. How’s this for making science fun?
The Physics of Superheroes
James Kakalios
QC24.5 .K3 2006
New Book Island, 2nd floor
Studying for a physics exam and it’s not making sense? Well, obviously your instructor should have read this book, which teaches physics using comic book heroes for the examples. Going from Mechanics to Energy to Modern Physics, Kakalios, a physics professor at the University of Minnesota, breaks down the sometimes hard-to-digest equations and principles by giving them life in the form of Magneto and Ant-man and other superheroes. The author accomplishes the task of teaching physics and saving the day at the same time.
Blame It On the Rain:
How the Weather Has Changed History
Laura Lee
QC981.L43 2006
New Book Island, 2nd floor
Ever wonder what this world would be like if Russia didn’t have the extreme climate that it does? If you have any doubts, just ask Napoleon or Hitler. Their defeats were greatly influenced by none other than the weather. The author looks at different historical events and the weather in which they transpired. With chapter titles like The Mud That Made England and Operation Thwarted by Desert Storm, the reader should expect a light read while picking up fun facts about world history.
