Titanic: April 14, 1912

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Ronna

On Monday, April 15, 1912, the front page headline of the The New York Times read: “New Liner Titanic Hits an Iceberg; Sinking by the Bow at Midnight; Women Put Off in Life Boats; Last Wireless at 12:27 A.M. Blurred.”

Late in the evening of April 14, 1912, the Titanic–ship of movie fame and book lore–struck the infamous iceberg and began to sink, eventually going under in the early morning hours of April 15. The “unsinkable ship” had sunk. Only slightly more than 700 of those who had been on board were rescued from lifeboats. The rest, approximately 1,500 passengers and crew, were lost. In the 100 years since, countless books, articles, documentaries, and websites have been written or filmed about the tragedy.

To learn more, search the Library’s online catalog. A subject browse on the keyword Titanic leads to books such as Shadow of the Titanic: the Extraordinary Stories of Those Who Survived, in the Browsing Books collection, call number G530 .T6 W56 2012, and The discovery of the Titanic, in the Main Collection, call number G530 .T6 B49 1995.

For newspaper accounts in the days following the sinking, try searching in the library databases ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008) or ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune (1849-1988). Limit your search by date. For magazine articles from that time period, search Readers’ Guide Retrospective (1890-1982).

Also, if you missed the Academy-award winning movie, Titanic, when it was released in 1997, you have a second chance. It was re-released this month and is in theatres now. The movie storyline is fiction (and whoever wrote the dialogue shouldn’t quit their day job), but the scenes of the ship breaking apart and going down are quite striking. The movie is also available in the Feature Films section of the Browsing DVD collection.

Need help finding information? Ask a reference librarian.

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Cite It Right from the Start!

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Ellen Latorraca

There are still seats available in both sessions! Drop-ins are welcome, but your RSVP is encouraged. Get in on a workshop and start…

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New Stuff Tuesday – April 10

Posted on April 10, 2012 by kyle

Ourselves Unborn

Ourselves Unborn:
A History of the Fetus in Modern America
by Sara Dubow
RG600 .D83 2011
New Arrivals, 2nd floor

With all the talk by legislatures at the federal and state levels about reproductive rights, coupled with my attendance at my first baby shower this weekend, I obviously have the little humans on the brain. While it’s fun to track the size of the little ‘peanut’ from conception to birth with an app on your smartphone, that ability has even changed what it means to be growing up inside the womb as well.

Dubow, history professor at Williams College, chronicles how the fetus has been viewed from a historical perspective. Starting back to the 1870s with the medical developments and understanding of the human reproductive process, she explains how the unborn human beings came to have their own identity. The author then spends the majority of the text in the later half of the twentieth century, detailing the process by which the fetus acquired personhood, rights, and feelings. Dubow’s work can be used to gain insight into the current debates surrounding abortion and other fetal issues. Also impressive, the notes and bibliography sections of the book are nearly longer than the text – an excellent starting point for research on this topic.

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Undergraduate Research Day! April 10

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Barbara

clip art of male student presenting posterToday is the annual Undergraduate Research Day! You can wander around the display of posters showing off students’ research projects from noon until 3:15 p.m. in the UC Hamilton Room. A sampling of previous years’ Undergraduate Research posters is online as part of the institutional repository called MINDS@UW.

Your poster could be displayed next year! Get information online about the Undergraduate Research Program at UWW, including basic information about how you get started! This program is for everyone–sciences, arts, business, social sciences and humanities. It’s also a chance to get to know your faculty better.

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Mark Twain’s Racial Relevance

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Barbara

Alan Gribben, a nationally recognized Mark Twain scholar, will talk about “Mark Twain’s Racial Relevance” on Mon., Apr. 9th, at 7pm in the Irvin L. Young Auditorium. It’s the last Contemporary Issues Lecture of 2011/2012, and is co-sponsored by the Big Read program.

Gribben, Professor in the English and Philosophy Dept. at Auburn University at Montgomery, has, of course, published a great deal about Mark Twain, including the controversial Mark Twain’s Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn in which he replaced some pejorative racial labels with different language in an effort to stop school districts from removing the books from their reading lists. For example, each of the 223 instances of “nigger” was replaced with “slave.” You can read about the controversy this sparked in a UPI release “New ‘Huck Finn’ edition removes the ‘n’ word.” Of course, the original text of both stories can be read online: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Search Andersen Library’s articles databases to find articles written by Dr. Gribben, such as “The importance of Mark Twain” (American Quarterly, Spring 1985, vol.37, pp.30-49). You also can search HALCat (Harold Andersen Library’s catalog) and article databases for a mountain of books and articles both by and about Mark Twain, including an entry about Mark Twain in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism (via the Literature Criticism Online database). Also see a blog post on “Huckleberry Finn” from earlier this year for additional information.

Please ask a librarian for assistance with finding materials if needed.

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Organize yourself! Virtual sticky note boards

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Barbara

Is tacking up paper notes to yourself boring? Go online! This could be useful for brainstorming ideas, organizing points for a paper or presentation, or just keeping track of dates of assignments or meetings.

Screenshot of virtual corkboard excerptThere are several versions of virtual boards and sticky notes, just Google terms like virtual cork bulletin board sticky note whiteboard to find several. Compare features, what’s functional, and what’s free or costs, e.g., a free whiteboard created at GroupZap lasts only 7 days. You can read a brief review of those listed below at “The Best Online Virtual “Corkboards” (or “Bulletin Boards”)” (a blog entry by Larry Ferlazzo).

Have fun.

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Student Creativity Unleashed in the Library

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Ellen Latorraca

Have you noticed the book displays near the Library’s Food for Thought Café or in the Curriculum Collection area on the 2nd floor? These aren’t just catchy-looking collections of colorful items. These displays are projects designed by students in Elementary Math Methods and Children’s Literature classes, through which students demonstrate their ability to integrate content area teaching with children’s fiction and non-fiction. This academic year, some students have taken on the challenge of creating counter-top displays that invite the viewer to browse the various books and items, including everything from hand puppets to felt-board clocks to jellybeans. (Yes, jellybeans. We hadn’t intended on creating edible displays, but creativity prevails.) If you haven’t paid attention to the displays featuring children’s books and media lately, stop and take a gander next time you visit Andersen!

 

“Money Monsters” display designed by Kelly Jones, Natalie Wolf, Samantha Neustadter, and Sarah Hartlaub

“A Matter of Time” included a manipulative felt-board clock as well as copies of instructions for making a simple sundial that the viewer could take. Designed by Heather Bennett

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Submit Earth Day photos

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Barbara

clip art of digital cameraUW-W will celebrate Earth Day on Thurs., Apr. 26, with the theme “We are All Connected by Rivers.” As part of the festivities, we (students, faculty, and community members) can submit digital photos for exhibition around campus. Photos can be landscapes, natural scenes, wildlife or community activities. The deadline for submissions is Monday, April 16 (4:30 p.m.). Read the details online.

Looking for some pointers on photography? Andersen Library has resources that may help with technique and inspiration! Search HALCat (Harold Andersen Library’s catalog) for books such as Field photography: Beginning and advanced techniques (3rd-floor Main Collection, TR721 .B55) and Over the rivers (3rd-floor OVERSIZE Collection, QE77 .C65 2008).

You can see some stunning river photos on National Geographic’s web site.

You can get some advice about how to photograph a river from Graham Turner, photographer for the UK Guardian. (My two favorite tips: “Do not drop your camera in the water.” and “Try not to fall in.”

So get out there and take some beautiful photos for Earth Day!

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New Stuff Tuesday – April 3

Posted on April 3, 2012 by kyle

The Imperfect Primary

The Imperfect Primary:
Oddities, Biases, and Strengths of US Presidential Nomination Politics
by Barbara Norrander
JK522 .N67 2010
New Arrivals, 2nd floor

Just in case you haven’t been paying attention to the news or have your phone number on the do-not-call list [and in theory missing the robo-calls], there’s the elections going on today (make sure to vote!). I’ve personally never really understood the spring elections, so this week’s featured title is especially helpful for me. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it might help you too.

Norrander, professor at the University Arizona, knows a few things about elections, specifically presidential nominations, as she has been writing on the topic for several decades. She has taken this knowledge and understanding of a seemingly bizarre system to enlighten everyone else about this particular aspect of politics. The author covers a brief history of the preliminary race before the big one, other ways in which a president could be selected, as well as a discussion of the fairness of the current system. This book offers a quick and dirty explanation, less than one hundred and thirty pages, of how and why things work the way that they do in choosing the challengers for the highest political post in the United States.

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Book Sale Education Style

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Martha

This month’s book sale is loaded with education related books, mostly history of education and educational theory and practice. It also has a good number of items on the history of the Americas. Don’t worry if these are not your major areas of interest, as we also have books on a host other subjects, including world history, law, religion and more. Titles include How to Live with a Neurotic Cat, Ask the Family Handyman and Best Remembered Poems. Come check out the ecclectic books of this month’s sale and remember to buy, buy, buy whatever interests you now, because if you wait, they may be gone.

Teacher Reading to Class

Thanks for patronizing our book sale!

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