Featured Resource: The Children’s Collection

Posted on October 3, 2010 by Susan

Maybe you’ve noticed the colorful, newly revamped area on the Library’s 2nd floor, the Children’s Collection? Perhaps you even attended the Grand Opening of this area on September 15th. This part of the Library contains children’s books, music CD’s, teaching materials, and even K-12 textbooks. It’s a wonderful resource for students studying to be teachers, but is open to all students, community members, and  university faculty and staff as well.

There are over 25,000 items in this collection, so if you’re looking for a book on a specific topic and/or for a certain age, you might want to check out the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD) first. If you want to access this database from off-campus, you will need to enter your Net ID and password when prompted. Once in the database, enter a word or phrase in the search box, and then use the limits on the right side to choose the correct age and/or grade level, book category, genre, and other limits. After doing a search, you can click on a title from the results list to find out more about the book including a summary, reading level, book reviews if they’re available, and more. Not every book listed in the database is available in our Library, so be sure to check the Library Catalog (HALCAT) and search by title to see if we have a book in our collection. Here is a link to a short tutorial showing you how to use the CLCD database .

If we don’t have a book that you need, there’s a good chance that another UW-System Library will, so be sure to check Universal Borrowing (or UB) to find out. Not sure how to use UB? Watch a short video about UB to learn more.

Posted in around the library, featured resource | Tagged | Comments Off on Featured Resource: The Children’s Collection

Fire Prevention Week 10/3-9

Posted on October 1, 2010 by Barbara

October 3-9 is Fire Prevention Week. Yes, there’ll be fire drills on campus. The intent is to remind everyone of the importance of fire prevention and safety.

The National Fire Protection Association provides a lot of information, including a history of Fire Prevention Week, which was established to commemorate the famous Chicago fire that started on Oct. 8, 1871. The fire that destroyed Peshtigo, WI, which began on the same day, was actually “the most devastating forest fire in American history.” In fact, Wisconsin Statutes 995.225 officially designates this week to commemorate both fires.

Read more about these famous fires in newspaper articles written at the time (historians would call them primary sources).  Search the Chicago Tribune Historical Newspapers database or ACCESS NewspaperARCHIVE (part of the statewide BadgerLink database suite). Ask a librarian for assistance if needed.

two newspapers showing coverage of the fires

Posted in around the world, around wisconsin, campus connection, info.gov | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Fire Prevention Week 10/3-9

Media Month at the “Book Sale”

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Susan

cart with media for book saleIt’s Media Month at the Library’s ongoing book sale. Check out the carts near the Library entrance for 16mm films and LP records! All items are only 25¢. Items will be changed weekly. Keep an eye out for videotapes later in October.

Posted in around the library | Tagged , | Comments Off on Media Month at the “Book Sale”

Ken Miller @UWW M Oct. 4

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Barbara

Ken Miller, Royce Family Professor for Teaching Excellence at Brown University, will present “Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for the Soul of America” @7pm on Mon., Oct. 4 (location: Irvin L. Young Auditorium). It’s the start of the fall 2010 College of Letters and Sciences Contemporary Issues Lecture Series.

book cover Miller’s research on cell membrane structure and function has resulted in more than 50 scientific papers and reviews in leading journals, including CELL, Nature, and Scientific American. He is the author of high school and college biology textbooks, as well as Finding Darwin’s God: A Scientist’s Search for Common Ground between God and Evolution (available from Andersen Library) and Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America’s Soul (available from other UW campus libraries; UWW students and staff may request it via the free Universal Borrowing service).

Dr. Miller has received many honors, including being named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2007, receiving the 2005 President’s Citation Award from the American Institute of Biological Sciences, and the Exploratorium‘s Outstanding Educator Award in 2007.

According to his biographical information on the San Francisco Exploratorium’s web site, Dr. Miller is “an active proponent of the teaching of evolution as the organizing principle of biology.” He was a lead witness for the plaintiffs in the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District case (400 F.Supp.2d 707), which successfully defended the teaching of evolution in public schools. You can read the case by using one of the legal research databases, LexisNexis Academic or Campus Research (click on the Law tab and then use search forms on the left to search by the citation or case name).

Please ask a librarian for assistance with finding or requesting materials.

Posted in campus connection | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Ken Miller @UWW M Oct. 4

New Stuff Tuesday – September 28

Posted on September 28, 2010 by kyle

Art Instinct

The Art Instinct:
Beauty, Pleasure and Human Evolution
by Denis Dutton
BH39 .D84 2010
New Book Island, 2nd floor

Artistic expression, and the appreciation of it, is a gift that certain individuals possess. Some people can spot ‘good’ art when they see it or recognize ‘great’ literature when they read it. While this may seem like a subjective classification, this week’s featured title contends that artistic taste exists as an evolutionary trait.

Dutton, professor of the philosophy of art in New Zealand, delves into the world of art through the lens of evolutionary science. He begins by explaining how Darwin’s ideas apply to art and the human instinct, and then continues into seemingly ‘universal’ aesthetic preferences. The author also examines the problems associated with aesthetics, including intention, forgery and dada. Dutton’s critique offers an intriguing perspective that goes against current art theory and criticism.

Posted in new stuff tuesdays | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on New Stuff Tuesday – September 28

Think for Yourself- Read Banned Books!

Posted on September 23, 2010 by Rebecca

Banned Books Week is September 25- October 2, 2010, and the theme for this year’s celebration is “Think for Yourself, Read Banned Books.”

I love banned books.  Drawing attention to a book by banning it or challenging it is the best way to drive my desire to read something. Some of my favorites have secured positions on the ALA’s list of the Top 100 Banned/Challenged books of 2000-2009. Out of the 100 listed, I have only been able to read 16 of the 100. What’s your number?

I challenge you to celebrate your freedom to read by picking up a banned book from Andersen Library.

Posted in uncategorized | Comments Off on Think for Yourself- Read Banned Books!

Try Out Google Docs for File Storage

Posted on September 23, 2010 by kolde

Are you always misplacing your USB drive? Looking for an easy way to collaborate on documents for group work? Google Docs is a convenient way to store and edit presentations, documents and spreadsheets.  Because items are created completely online, they can be accessed and edited from any computer or workstation with an internet connection. You can then download these documents as common file formats such as Word. Another interesting feature is that more than one person can edit a document at the same time and view the changes being made in real time.

This is especially handy considering the amount of lost flash drives and USB devices that are turned into the Circulation desk each semester.  It is also convenient as files saved to My Documents on any campus workstation are deleted after 48 hrs.

Best of all, an account is free! As a UWW campus community member all you need is your Net-ID and password to begin: http://docs.google.com/a/uww.edu

If you want to know more, check out these video tutorials created by iCIT: http://www.uww.edu/icit/training/googledocs.html

Here is iCIT’s blog entry about Google Docs: http://blogs.uww.edu/icit/2010/08/17/google-docs-now-availabe-on-campus/

If you have any questions, please feel free to stop by the Reference or Circulation desks!

Posted in uncategorized | 1 Comment

New Stuff Tuesday – September 21

Posted on September 21, 2010 by kyle

Diversity Paradox

Diversity Paradox:
Immigration and the Color Line
in 21st Century America
by Jennifer Lee & Frank Bean
JV6475 .L38 2010
New Book Island, 2nd floor

Diversity is very much a part of our society, including our campus. The convergence of individuals with different backgrounds enriches the dialogue for all those involved. However, the diversity that we currently enjoy has not come to fruition without struggle. Underrepresented groups have endured their share of hardship along the way. This week’s featured title looks at the current issues relating to the rise of the Latino and Asian communities in the United States.

Lee and Bean, professors at the University of California, Irvine, examine the booming Asian and Latino populations due to immigration. The authors look at the plight of African Americans from the years of slavery and investigate whether the ‘new kids’ will experience the same sort of battle for societal integration. They also analyze the “color line” and the blurring of that line, what it means for multiracial individuals like the nation’s President. And if the text isn’t enough, there are plenty of references at the end for further research.

Posted in new stuff tuesdays, uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on New Stuff Tuesday – September 21

Sept.: Nat’l Yoga Month

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Barbara

Now we’re into the 4th week of fall semester…feeling stressed? Did you know that September is National Yoga Month? Yoga is one way to combat stress; there are many other ways like meditating, running, listening to music, or even just getting enough sleep! I like spending quality time with my kitties, myself.

But if you’re interested in trying yoga and you didn’t sign up for Health Education 341 (Yoga/Stress Reduction), Andersen Library has materials that can help.

Office Yoga coverSearch the HALCat library catalog to find books such as Complete guide to pilates, yoga, meditation & stress relief (3rd-Floor Main Collection, GV481 .C66 2003) and Office yoga: Tackling tension with simple stretches you can do at your desk (3rd-Floor Main Collection, RA781.7 .F75 2003), as well as videos such as Total yoga (2nd-floor Browsing DVDs, Academic, RA781.7 .T685 2004). Ask a librarian for assistance with finding materials in Andersen Library.

The campus Wellness Resource Center, located in the lobby of the Ambrose Health Center, also has materials that can be used, such as the DVD Yoga for Every Body, which provides 45 workouts for beginner, intermediate and advanced students.

Posted in around the library, campus connection | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Sept.: Nat’l Yoga Month

As If You Needed Another Reason…

Posted on September 18, 2010 by kyle

The New York Times is reporting that changing scenery when studying benefits the student. The article discusses study habits and the current research being done by cognitive psychologists that is challenging age-old notions of the ‘right way to learn.’ Investigators have found that varying the ‘where’ when it comes to studying aids in the retention of information.

What does that mean? It’s just another excellent reason that you should come to the library to study.

Read the article: Mind: Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits – New York Times (via Lifehacker)

Thanks to Patty for the link!

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