LECTURE ABSTRACT:  In October 1609, Galileo Galilei began observing astronomical objects. Over the next several years he carefully recorded observations of the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Milky Way and the Sun. In so doing, he laid the groundwork for the eventual acceptance  of a Sun-centered solar system. This lecture will cover what observations Galileo attempted, what he found in them and what he missed, either accidentally or because he felt he did not have sufficient evidence to announce a discovery.

Andersen Library has materials on Galileo if you are interested in learning more about him. Search HALCat, the Library catalog, to find titles such as Galileo, courtier: The practice of science in the culture of absolutism (3rd-floor Main Collection, QB36.G2 B54 1993).

Please ask a librarian for assistance with finding materials.

Spent:
Sex, Evolution and Consumer Behavior
By Geoffrey Miller
HB801 .M493 2009
New Book Island, 2nd floor

It seems that we’re on a Darwin kick here (next week, a book about the Darwin Awards?), but this week’s featured title also deals with evolution in a different context. Besides, with the Black Friday ads already starting to pop up here and there, dropping loads of cash is on everyone’s mind.

Miller, a professor at the University of New Mexico, applies the world of evolutionary psychology to the field of marketing with intriguing results. He seeks to prove that there is a connection between buyer behavior and our biological potential as friends and mates. The author examines the Central Six, the major dimensions of variations for human behavior, and what the purchases we make, from cars to music to video games, reveal about them. If you’d like to learn what compels you to buy those suicidal high heels or the ginormous truck, this book’s for you.

“Letters Home” on Tues., Nov. 3rd, at 7:30pm (Young Auditorium) is a performance of stories of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families. It’s inspired by The New York Times articles, The Things They Wrote.

Mon., Nov. 9, 6-8 pm: Student panel on UWW Veterans’ Firsthand Accounts (location: Involvement Center, University Center).

Wed., Nov. 11, 5 pm: Guest speaker Ben Collins shares his experience as a Green Beret in Afghanistan (location: Summers Auditorium, University Center).

There are also materials in Andersen Library. A search of HALCat, Andersen Library’s catalog, would find titles such as When war becomes personal: Soldiers’ accounts from the Civil War to Iraq (3rd-floor Main Collection, E181 .W565 2008) and Stolen voices: Young people’s war diaries, from World War I to Iraq (2nd-floor Curriculum Collection, Juvenile Non-Fiction, 302.23 Sto).

Please ask a librarian for assistance with finding materials.

The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature
Monday, November 2, 2009
Young Auditorium, 7 pm

Evolutional psychologist Steven Pinker is one of the world’s leading cognitive scientists. The Times (London) calls him “academia’s rock star,” with his wild hair and controversial ideas. Currently, Pinker is Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  Pinker’s research demonstrates that the human mind is not a blank slate at birth, and that some elements of language are also pre-programmed.

Andersen Library has a number of Pinker’s books (including several books with chapters by him). So take a look at HALCAT to see a list of his books.

Pinker’s book, The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature, is available at many other UW Libraries and may be requested through Universal Borrowing.

PsycInfo (EBSCOhost) is a great place to search for articles by Pinker.

Galápagos at the Crossroads:
Pirates, Biologists, Tourists and Creationists
Battle for Darwin’s Cradle of Evolution
By Carol Ann Bassett
F3741 .G2 B38 2009
New Book Island, 2nd floor

Back in grade school, I remember learning about the islands off the coast of Ecuador where thousands of species of plants and animals could be found only there. The islands also provided Darwin with the scientific evidence to support his theory of natural selection. This week’s featured book alerts readers that the birthplace of The Origin of Species is at risk due to economic exploitation.

Bassett, writing instructor at the University of Oregon, presents the case that the Galápagos Islands, known for their natural and unique beauty, could (or more accurately, will) be lost forever if something doesn’t change. She tells the history of the islands and their exploration by Spanish conquistadors and adventurous scientists and naturalists. The author then takes a chapter to discuss each stakeholder in the current situation, from the tour companies to fishermen to the pirates. If you are looking for an example of the battle between the natural environment and human encroachment, this book provides the perfect case.

One more thing, which I (as a librarian) thought was cool: Bassett not only includes a bibliography, but breaks up the sources by type, with books, magazines/journals, etc. – makes your life easy when trying to figure out citations!

Since seasonal and H1N1 flu references are everywhere this fall, of course I searched for something about flu. I was not disappointed.

See the “Influenza 1918” episode of the PBS American Experience series (1998).

Of course, you can search for other topics that interest you. You can search for and view Universal newsreels from particular dates. For example, for October 22nd there are narrated newsreels of the opening of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Guggenheim Museum in New York City (1959) and the 1964 Presidential candidates Barry Goldwater and Lyndon Baines Johnson. You can find videos on Amelia Earhart and “Two Days in October” that juxtaposes a day (Oct. 17, 1967) in the Vietnam War and a day (Oct. 18, 1967) at a non-violent protest in Madison, WI.

Use it while you can!

There has been considerable talk about going green in the last few years. Believe it or not, this whole movement didn’t just happen overnight. It got traction in 1987 by the Brundtland Commission in a report commissioned by the United Nations. That report, Our Common Future defines sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Alright, that’s doable, right?

Another fun fact: sustainability not only has the obvious environmental aspects, but also economic and social aspects as well. The Encyclopedia of Earth has a great article on the three elements of the sustainable development triangle.

Given the importance of this issue, the Library has a number of resources available for you if you’re interested in researching this topic. Check out the Sustainability guide that lists just some of the books that are available from our collection, as well as databases, like Environment Complete, one of newest resources, that would be useful to find articles.

And I almost forgot – take a look at the display in the main lobby of the library!

If you have any questions on the topic, just make sure to stop by the Reference Desk or Ask a Librarian!

Our Lot:
How Real Estate Came to Own Us
By Alyssa Katz
HD1375 .K348 2009
New Book Island, 2nd floor

The housing market these days has a lot of people worried and waiting for an economic recovery to make the next move. The real estate bubble and subsequent implosion put individuals and corporations in dire situations. This week’s featured title looks at the factors that contributed to the crash of the American dream of home ownership.

Katz, journalism instructor at New York University, examines the housing market and how we got to where we are now. The author focuses on all of the players involved, from the government to the bankers to community activists, that created the crisis that we’re currently experiencing. She writes about a somewhat complicated subject in a very accessible style and even includes a glossary of real estate terms just in case. Furthermore, she does provide notes and sources for further research.

Once you’ve gone to ABI/Inform, there are two ways in which you can search for articles from only the Wall Street Journal:

1. Use the advanced search: in one of the boxes, enter wall street journal and then select Publication Title from the drop-down menu to the right of the search box.
2. The Publications tab at the top allows you to view the list of newspaper, magazine and journal titles that are contained in ABI. Search for wall street journal – the resulting link will take you to a page in which you can exclusively search the WSJ.

So get into a ’90s mood! Some Andersen Library resources might help, such as the DVD set of the complete Friends series (2nd-floor Browsing DVD–Features, call no. Fri). You can spend a whopping 4800 minutes watching this television series that premiered in September 1994. Or read about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a television series that first aired in March 1997. A search of HALCat, the Library catalog, would find titles such as Fighting the forces: what’s at stake in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (3rd-floor Main Collection, PN1992.77.B84 F54 2002) and The physics of the Buffyverse (3rd-floor Main Collection, QC75 .O84 2006). I was among many who bought some “magic eye” art. You can see three books on this in Andersen Library (Magic Eye, Magic Eye II, and Magic Eye III, all in the 3rd-floor Main Collection, N7430.5 .M24)

The ’90s were years of many scientific and technological wonders. Who can forget Dolly, the cloned sheep born on July 5, 1996? Read all abaaaaaaht it in Clone: The road to Dolly, and the path ahead (3rd-floor Main Collection, QH442.2 .K65 1998). And think about the ’90s this week as you search the Internet, watch DVDs, play video games, and take pictures on your digital camera…the World Wide Web, HTML, digital cameras, and the DVD format all started during the ’90s. And in the 1990’s video games underwent a major explosion, fueled by the advent of optical storage and 3-D. Games like Final Fantasy, Mortal Kombat, and Pokemon started during this decade. Andersen Library has the video games Final fantasy XII (PlayStation) and Mortal kombat vs. DC Universe, among others (2nd-floor Browsing Video Games). So, you see, we haven’t left the ’90s, we’ve just improved upon them.

Please ask a librarian for assistance in finding additional Library materials, such as the Reference book Day by day: The nineties.