Andersen Library’s MLK weekend hours, UWW MLK event

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Barbara

Andersen Library will be closed Sat. Jan. 17-Mon. Jan. 19 (Winterim ends on Jan. 16th, and it’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday the 19th). Spring Semester hours will start on Tues., Jan. 20th, at 7:30 a.m.

Please plan ahead! Remember that even when the physical Library is closed, you can:

  • Search the article databases (login when prompted with your campus Net-ID, same as for your campus email or D2L),
  • Search for Andersen Library’s holdings of Books, Media and more (UW Whitewater) and use links to online titles, including ereserves for classes,
  • Renew checked-out books, DVDs, etc. through your Account,
  • Consult online guides for help, including citation guides for APA, MLA, and Turabian format, and course assignment guides, and
  • Ask a librarian for help using email or chat (UWW librarians respond to the emails when the Library is open, but chat is covered 24/7 by non-UWW staff).

You can learn more about the MLK Day holiday online from the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. In addition, UWW’s Martin Luther King Commemorative Event will take place on Wed., Jan. 28, at 3:30 p.m. in the UC Hamilton Room: Deuel Ross, staff fellow for the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, will talk about the 1965 Voting Rights Act, enacted 50 years ago. Learn more about the history of this legislation at the web site of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Dept. of Justice. Read the legislation (Public Law 89-110, aka Voting Rights Act of 1965) online.

Andersen Library is a federal and Wisconsin depository library with federal and state government documents on a variety of current and relevant issues available to you in various formats (print, DVD/CD-ROM, online). Check out your government at Andersen Library!

Posted in around the library, around the world, campus connection, info.gov | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Andersen Library’s MLK weekend hours, UWW MLK event

2015/2017 Wisconsin Legislature

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Barbara

Wonder how the State Legislature works? Have an interest in something the State Legislature is doing?

outline of Wisconsin (map)The Wisconsin Library Association’s Government Information Round Table has posted a blog entry that provides basic information about the new biennial session of the Wisconsin Legislature, which kicked off on January 5th.

The blog entry links to information about State officers and elected officials, the legislative process in Wisconsin, and the work of the state agencies that exist to support the work of the legislators. Especially interesting is the 2015-16 Wisconsin Legislator Briefing Book, which provides background on policy areas and the budget process for State legislators.

There also are web sites that help you keep tabs on what the Legislature is doing, e.g., WisconsinEye uses “robotic cameras in the Capitol [to] produce gavel-to-gavel, unedited coverage of state proceedings” and also covers “community affairs and public policy discussions across the state,” according to its web site. The Wisconsin Legislature‘s own web site provides a link to A citizen’s guide to participation in the Wisconsin State Legislature, which talks about testifying at public hearings and finding legislative documents. You can create a free account to receive email notification when particular legislative activity (identified by bill numbers, keywords, committees, authors, or Administrative Code notices) occurs with the Wisconsin Legislative Notification Service. The Legislature also posts a schedule of committee activities.

Please ask a librarian for additional assistance in finding information by and about the Wisconsin State Legislature.

FDLP logo Andersen Library is a federal and Wisconsin depository library with federal and state government documents on a variety of current and relevant issues available to you in various formats (print, DVD/CD-ROM, online). Check out your government at Andersen Library!

Posted in around wisconsin, info.gov | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on 2015/2017 Wisconsin Legislature

Is the Weather Outside Frightful?

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Martha

Believe it or not, it’s relatively nice outside according to Weather America. It’s true, we are and will remain for days below the mean minimum temperature for January, which is 14.2F, but we are not even close to the annual extreme minimum temperature in Lake Geneva, where the Walworth County weather station is located, which is -27F. At a high of 10F today and a low of -7F tonight I’d still recommend a full set of cold weather gear, including earmuffs (my favorites), mittens, and insulated boots along with your heavy overcoat. Don’t forget about the wind chill, which could get as low as -30F tonight. The faster the wind the quicker you’ll cool down to the ambient temperature, so don’t stay outside longer than you have to.

According to the National Weather Service, a minor “heat wave” is expected to save us come Sunday, when we’ll see a high of 20F and the low will be just 6F. Practically balmy compared to today.

Want to read more about the weather? Weather America (Reference Collection, Call Number: QC983 .W385 2011) provides a 30-year summary of statistical weather data and rankings for the entire United States. There is also easily accessible current, future, and historical weather data online from the National Weather Service. Other great places to get the forecast and more are Weather Undergound, The Weather Channel, and, of course, our local television and radio stations and their websites.

If you’re chilly, come to the library where it’s nice and toasty!

Posted in around wisconsin | Tagged | 1 Comment

New Stuff Tuesday – January 6, 2015

Posted on January 6, 2015 by James Castrillo

publiclands

America’s Public Lands:
From Yellowstone to Smokey Bear and Beyond
by Randall K. Wilson
HD216 .W48 2014
New Arrivals , 2nd Floor

In this book, Wilson concisely explains the past, present, and future of public lands in the United States. The initial part of the book explores the emergence of public lands in response to too much privatization of lands in the 19th century. He also explains the growth of this system, and defines the different types of public lands recognized in the United States. Wilson follows up at the end by analyzing the future of development within the public lands system, and how various environmental issues will guide policy going forward. This is a fascinating read. It is a great one to check out whether you are interested in history or gaining some background information on the road trip to your favorite national park this coming summer.

Interested in more? Consider checking out Ken Burns’ documentary The National Parks America’s Best Idea.

Posted in around the library, new stuff tuesdays | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on New Stuff Tuesday – January 6, 2015

Friday Fun: Armchair travel this winter!

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Barbara

Winter in Wisconsin! What better time to travel, especially to warmer places, eh? But if you’re like me, you can’t afford the time (or the travel). Well, a little ‘armchair’ travel may be the ticket for us.

Andersen Library can help with this. Search the books, media and more of Andersen Library to find resources like Rick Steves’ Europe: All 100 shows 2000-2014 (24 DVDs in Browsing DVDs, Academic, on 2nd floor at D907 .R53 2013). Oh, the places you’ll go! I just recently watched an episode on PBS that featured travel to Prague and other nearby places in the Czech Republic, including the bone church (or ossuary) in Kutná Hora that contains the bones of thousands of people who died of the plague in the 1300s. There is even a YouTube video of a visit to this site:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/kXLdNDyu8Hs[/youtube]

cover of In a sunburned countryBesides watching travel videos, you can read travel books like Bill Bryson’s In a sunburned country (about Australia, available in the 3rd-floor Main Collection at DU105.2 .B83 2000–I’ve never been there, but I liked this book!) and Dark star safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town (3rd-floor Main Collection, DT12.25 .T48 2004). UWW students or staff also may borrow items from other UW System campus libraries, such as Getting stoned with savages: A trip through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu or The sex lives of cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific. Of course, if cold really is your favorite thing, there are books like Cold: Adventures in the world’s frozen places (3rd-floor Main Collection, G608 .S69 2009) too!

For assistance with finding materials or requesting them from other libraries, please ask a librarian.

Posted in around the library, around the world | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Happy New Year! It’s Time to Play Football

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Martha

Did you know that New Year’s Day football was popular in medieval Europe? That predecessor of modern games has been around since at least the Roman Empire and became associated with various holidays throughout Christendom. It has morphed into today’s association, rugby, American football, and other games. In terms of American football and U.S. holidays, it originally became popular in the late nineteenth century at colleges and universities shortly after diverging from rugby and by the 1880s it was a Thanksgiving Day staple. By the early twentieth century the game’s popularity had spread and in 1916 the first Rose Ball was staged on New Year’s Day. The rest is history.

This information was found in the Encyclopedia of American Holidays and National Days (Reference Collection GT4803.A2 E63 2006). To read more about holidays, take a look at the following books:

Posted in around the world, around wisconsin | Tagged , | 1 Comment

New Stuff Tuesday – December 30, 2014

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Martha

Alanis Obomsawin

Alanis Obomsawin:
The Vision of a Native Filmmaker
by Randolph Lewis
PN1998.3 .O24 2006
New Arrivals, 2nd Floor

In this fascinating book, Randolph Lewis introduces, ponders, and critiques Alanis Obomsawin’s many films and presents detailed information about her life and influences. Although she’s received many awards, she is still little known outside Canada. Filmmaker Obomsawin has produced and directed over 20 elucidating and influential documentaries in the last 40 years, which strove to abolish Native American stereotypes and modify viewers’ perceptions of Native Americans, which have likely been negatively influenced by the typically inaccurate portrayal of them in film and television. Often overlooked, Obomsawin’s oeuvre is the core of Randolph Lewis’ vision of worldwide indigenous media as a “cinema of sovereignty.” In which, in Lewis’ words, “Native activists with camcorders can use documentary as an ideological solvent to strip away the illusions of the dominant culture and reveal the underlying order of things” (p. 137).

If the book inspires you, as it did me, to view her films you can borrow several from other UW System libraries through Research@UWW. Her films are also available streaming (free) and for download (fee) from the National Film Board of Canada < https://www.nfb.ca/explore-all-directors/alanis-obomsawin/ >.

Posted in around the library, new stuff tuesdays | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on New Stuff Tuesday – December 30, 2014

New Stuff Tuesday – December 23, 2014

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Diana

Hyperactive

Hyperactive:
The Controversial History of ADHD
by Matthew Smith
RJ506.H9 S658 2012
New Arrivals, 2nd Floor

This book investigates the history of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the way that medical communities, parents, educators, and politicians have understood the diagnosis and disorder since the 1950s. Smith traces the various explanations professionals of all kinds have given for hyperactive children and how biological causes and drug treatments came to be the most popular in the US. He also discusses the different rates of diagnosis and the different kinds of treatment popular in places outside of North America.

Posted in new stuff tuesdays | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on New Stuff Tuesday – December 23, 2014

Break & Winterim Library Hours

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Barbara

Library hours during the break (Dec. 23-28) are:

  • Tues Dec 23: 8am-4:30pm
  • CLOSED Wed-Thurs Dec 24-25
  • Fri Dec 26: 8am-4:30pm
  • CLOSED Sat-Sun Dec 27-28

Winterim (Mon Dec 29-Fri Jan 16) Library hours are:
Mon-Wed: 7:30am-6pm, Thurs-Fri 7:30am-4:30pm, Sat: CLOSED, Sun: noon-8pm
However, because of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, there are some adjustments:

  • Mon-Tues Dec 29-30: 7:30am-6pm
  • CLOSED Wed-Thurs Dec 31-Jan 1
  • Fri Jan 2: 7:30am-4:30pm

The Food for Thought Café is closed until Spring Semester, so pack a sandwich or plan other dining options.

Please plan ahead! Remember that even when the physical Library is closed, you can:

  • Search the article databases (login when prompted with your campus Net-ID, same as for your campus email or D2L),
  • Search for Andersen Library’s holdings of Books, Media and more (UW Whitewater) and use links to online titles, including ereserves for classes,
  • Renew checked-out books, DVDs, etc. (once) through your Account,
  • Consult online guides for help, including citation guides for APA, MLA, and Turabian format, and course assignment guides, and
  • Ask a librarian for help using email or chat (UWW librarians respond to the emails when the Library is open, but chat is covered 24/7 by non-UWW staff).
Posted in around the library | Tagged , | Comments Off on Break & Winterim Library Hours