For all the hardworking staff in the Library…a Friday present to reward your efforts all year long. There is a plug for the Library in a video on YouTube, produced by the 2008 Hawk Squad (skip to 2:24)!
Monthly Archive for July, 2009
On July 30, 1928, George Eastman demonstrated his “kodacolor” process that allowed anyone to make color motion picture films. He was 74 at that time and had never even finished high school. But his inventions, such as roll film, brought photography to the masses. I even remember my parents having a cheap Brownie camera. One wonders what he would have done with the technologies we have now.
It was front-page news in the New York Times of July 31, 1928 – you can read it by searching for “home movies in colors” in the ProQuest Historical Newspapers – The New York Times database.
There is more relevant material in Andersen Library’s collections; please ask a librarian for assistance.
For example, the Library Catalog lists books with entries for Eastman such as The Reader’s companion to American history (2nd-floor Reference Collection, E174 .R43 1991) and They made America: From the steam engine to the search engine: Two centuries of innovators (3rd-floor Main Oversize Collection, T39 .E83 2004).
Al’ America:
Travels Through America’s Arab and Islamic Roots
By Jonathan Curiel
E169.1 .C853 2008
New Book Island, 2nd floor
They don’t call the America the “melting pot” for nothing. As the land of opportunity, we have traditionally been a place of refuge from those struggling in their homeland, whether that may have been. Therefore, in wake of all of the turmoil with the “outsiders” and closing the borders, this week’s featured title reminds us about all of the different heritagess that have been woven into this country’s fabric.
Curiel, writer for the San Francisco Chronicle recognized for his reporting of Arab and Muslim culture, takes a trip through the United States and examines the influences that the Arabs have had on our society. Some are to be expected – for instance, words in English with Arabic roots (did you know that giraffe originated from Arabic? I didn’t!). Others are less obvious and/or well-known, such as the Muslim roots in American blues music. The author writes in an easy-going tone, making this a quick and enjoyable read for a sometimes tense and sensitive topic.
OK, I wasn’t planning to blog today until I saw something on the Today show about a “lifelike” Japanese robot modeling a bridal gown at a fashion show. Oh, my. I wouldn’t call it very lifelike, myself, but to judge for yourself read “Here comes the cybernetic bride” at the CNET news site and see it for yourself at YouTube: 
If you’d like to read more about robotics, Andersen Library’s catalog can help you find titles such as The robot: The life story of a technology (3rd-floor Main Collection, TJ211 .N63 2007).
The Library’s article databases could be used to find such articles as “Computational Models to Synthesize Human Walking” (Journal of Bionic Engineering, vol.3:no.3, Sept. 2006, pp. 127-138).
Please ask a librarian for assistance with finding materials.
John Dillinger was killed as he left Chicago’s Biograph Theatre after attending the gangster film Manhattan Melodrama on this date (July 22nd) in 1934.
You may have seen the currently-playing film Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp (I did!), which was partially filmed in Wisconsin. It’s based on the book Public enemies: America’s greatest crime wave and the birth of the FBI, 1933–34. The book is available to UWW students and staff from other UW campus libraries by using the free Universal Borrowing service (requested materials arrive in 2-4 weekdays). Other titles, such as Dillinger: The untold story, are also available.
More information is available from Library article databases and reference materials, such as full-text newspaper databases including NewspaperARCHIVE or ProQuest Historical Newspapers – The New York Times.
Other article databases provide access to articles such as Public enemies keystone cops (American History, Aug. 2009, vol. 44:no. 3, pp. 34-39).
You can also read a 20-page entry (with several photos) on Dillinger in the 2nd-floor Reference Collection title Bloodletters and badmen (Ref HV 6785 .N37).
And check out The FBI: A Centennial History, 1908-2008 which details Dillinger and other gangsters as well as other intriguing cases encountered by the FBI in its history. It’s in our 2nd-floor Federal Government Documents collection (call number J 1.14/2:C 33/3) and available online at http://fbi.gov/book.htm. Dillinger is on the cover. Can you spot him?
Please ask a librarian for assistance in finding materials.
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!
Reading Japan Cool:
Patterns of Manga Literacy and Discourse
By John Ingulsrud and Kate Allen
PN6790 .J3 I54 2009
New Book Island, 2nd floor
When you were younger, did you read comic books? Did your parents give you a hard time for reading ‘books’ with so many illustrations and barely any words? I know that my parents always did (”How can you call it ‘reading’ with all of the pictures?” was the common reaction). If you’re looking for a comeback to that question, look to the west for answers. In Japan, with one of the highest literacy rates in the world, manga, or Japanese comics, proves to be as pervasive as baseball and apple pie here in the states. This week’s featured title looks at the influential medium and its impact on its readers.
Ingulsrud and Allen, faculty members at universities in Tokyo, present their work with literacy in Japan, which grew out of their study of college students and their reading habits. They discovered that manga not only monopolized much of the students’ current literature consumption, but it also formed a major part of their literacy development. The authors researched the genre’s place in the overarching issue of literacy, giving background of its growth in popularity, as well as the motivations for continuing to read manga into adult life. If you’re interested in manga or in teaching, then this book would be a good start.
I just heard on the news Monday morning that Pulitzer-Prize winning author Frank McCourt passed away on Sunday, July 19th.
If you are interested in reading his work, Andersen Library has his memoirs Angela’s Ashes (3rd-Floor Main Collection, E184.I6 M117 1997) as well as the movie adaptation (2nd-Floor Browsing DVDs, Feature Film, Ang).
The continuation of his memoirs, ‘Tis, is available from other UW campus libraries to UWW students and staff via the free Universal Borrowing service, as well as being available in area public libraries including the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library in Whitewater.
More information about Frank McCourt is available from the Biography Ref Bank Select database (WilsonWeb): his entry in Current Biography 1998 (select the “Biography Ref Bank Select” database and then search for McCourt, Frank).
“Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. The first steps by humans on another planetary body were taken by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on July 20, 1969.” – NASA’s “Apollo 40th Anniversary” web pages (Didn’t see it? You can watch NASA’s videos of the 1969 event).
Andersen Library has many related materials for children and adults. Search the library catalog for children’s materials such as the pop-up book Moon landing (2nd-floor Curriculum Collection, Oversize Juvenile Nonfiction, 629.45 Pla) and Buzz Aldrin’s autobiography Reaching for the moon (2nd-floor Curriculum Collection, Oversize Easy Book, E Ald). 
Adults may be interested in items such as the 29-minute NASA video The Eagle has landed (2nd-floor Browsing VHS, TL799 .M6 E2x), Michael Collins‘ autobiography Carrying the fire: An astronaut’s journeys (3rd-floor Main Collection, TL789.85 .C64 A33 1974), or The moonlandings: An eyewitness account (3rd-floor Main Collection, TL789.8.U6 A5844 2003).
There also are many articles in journals, magazines, and newspapers about Apollo 11, and spaceflight in general. For example, read articles from the New York Times using the ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times database (pictured at right is part of the front page from July 21, 1969).
Please ask a librarian for assistance with finding additional materials.
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!
