The Andersen Library Blog

18 Things You Did Not Have a Decade Ago

Posted on May 27, 2010 by kolde

Next week is June already, which means 2010 is almost halfway over!

Do you remember what you were doing in the summer of 2000, ten years ago? Whatever it was, you were not able to enjoy the items on this list of technology tools that have been around for less than a decade.

1. Wikipedia

2. Gmail

3. Facebook

4. YouTube

5. Twitter

6. Google AdWords

7. RSS (technically started in 1999)

8. Meetup

9. iPod

10. Google Maps

11. Podcasts

12. Mint

13. Skype/VOIP

14. iPhone

15. Google Docs

16. Amazon AWS

17. Creative Commons

18. Flickr

Original Article here

Posted in around the world | 4 Comments

New Stuff Tuesday – May 25

Posted on May 25, 2010 by kyle

The Art of SEO:
Mastering Search Engine Optimization
by Eric Enge, Stephan Spencer,
Rand Fiskin & Jessie Stricchiola
HF5415.1265 .E65 2010
New Book Island, 2nd floor

Do you ever ask yourself what makes Google so good at retrieving what you need and want? Is it the algorithms that they’ve created for relevancy? Is it because you always use the right words? Or is it the web developers on the other end of the equation making it so easy for you to find them? Well, this week’s featured title explains just what goes into searching from the back-end.

The four authors, all industry leaders and SEO experts, delve into the world of search engine optimization (what is this?). As described in the preface, “think of [the book] as SEO 101, SEO 102 and SEO 103.” That description fits pretty well, as the authors create a foundation by covering search engines and how they work their magic. They then demonstrate how this applies to websites and what can be done to improve search rankings and ultimately visibility through linking. Finally, they wrap up with the evaluation and assessment of tactics and the future of SEO, important for any internet marketing strategy.

Posted in new stuff tuesdays | Tagged books, computers, internet marketing, marketing, new stuff, search engine optimization, search engines | Comments Off

Texas re-writing American History?

Posted on May 20, 2010 by Kate

Texas publishes many of the school textbooks for schools around the U.S. This week, the fifteen-member Texas school board has decided to re-write some of American history as we have known it. The board is taking a more right-wing conservative stand on history, including placing a more important role on religion and lessening the role of Thomas Jefferson due to their belief that he was too secular.

One big reason for the religious push is to illustrate that there “would be no United States if it had not been for God.” The history books will question the seperation of church and state, believing there should be a more religious base to politics. They believe education should teach children about the “superiority of American capitalism.”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLt_IYDSQ4w[/youtube]

The new curriculum will also include a heavy focus on the 2nd amendment which is the right of every US citizen to bear arms and support the NRA (the National Rifle Association). On a more important note, the Texas board of education is watering down the historical impact and roles of slavery and the civil rights movement. The NAACP is pushing the Texas school board of education to revisit its recommended changes in order to preserve the accurate history of America concering slaver and the civil rights movement.

Daily Show Textbook Video Clip

What are your thoughts on this change to American history? Is this just as bad as most of us learning that Pluto was a planet and now it’s just a glorified “dwarf planet?” Do you think politics and government are playing too big a role in our education and our history?

Government Printing Office logo

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!

Posted in around the world, info.gov | Tagged education, history, school board, texas, textbooks | 3 Comments

Library Summer Semester Hours

Posted on May 19, 2010 by Barbara

Andersen Library’s Summer Semester hours start Monday, May 24th and end August 13th.

Mondays-Thursdays: 7 am-9 pm
Fridays: 7 am-4:30 pm
Saturdays: CLOSED
Sundays: noon-8 pm

Exceptions:
Sunday-Monday, May 30-31: CLOSED
Sunday-Monday, July 4-5: CLOSED

Posted in around the library | Tagged library hours | Comments Off

New Stuff Tuesday – May 18

Posted on May 18, 2010 by kyle

Stencil Nation

Stencil Nation:
Graffiti, Community and Art
by Russell Howze
NK8654 .H69 2008
New Book Island, 2nd floor

One thing that has always fascinated me is graffiti and street art. Being from a small town in the middle of cornfields, there weren’t a lot of opportunities to see examples, with the exception of the passing freight trains. Then I traveled to Barcelona and noticed a different form of street art: stencils. It turns out that it’s a whole movement, and this week’s featured title tells all.

Howze, founder and curator of Stencil Archive, has compiled a volume on the work of street artists around the world. From San Francisco to New York, Argentina to Thailand, stencil art is popping up everywhere, and not just on the sides of buildings. Any surface becomes a canvas, and the variety is astounding. Howze profiles the ‘aerosole pioneers’ like John Fekner and Jef Aérosol, and artists, as well as those the documentarians, those that have captured the evidence for others to see. He also provides a chronology stenciling (back to 30,000 BC!) and tips for making your own stencils from the artists themselves.

Posted in new stuff tuesdays | Tagged art, books, graffiti, new stuff, stencils, street art | Comments Off

Library Hours May 17-23

Posted on May 14, 2010 by Barbara

Whew! Felt like a lo-o-o-o-o-ong semester, didn’t it? Well, it’s nearly over!

Andersen Library’s hours will be reduced during the week between Spring & Summer semesters:

Willie takes a break by the Library big screen TV

Monday, May 17: 7am-4:30pm
Tuesday-Friday, May 18-21: 8am-4:30pm
Saturday-Sunday, May 22-23: CLOSED

Summer Semester hours start Monday, May 24th. See you then. Or if not, you can keep getting the Library blog entries…

Posted in around the library | Tagged library hours | Comments Off

RU able to unplug?

Posted on May 14, 2010 by Barbara

I recently read an article in my daily newspaper about the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda asking 200 University of Maryland, College Park students to give up cell phones, iPods, TV, radio, computers, and even magazines and newspapers for one day. Yup, 24 hours unplugged. (Oh, the horror!)

The students blogged about their “Day Without Media” experience when it was over. You can read all about it, including their comments. And what do you suppose they said? The short version, as I read it, is that they suffered like their life support tubes had been squeezed. That must be why that young woman behind the wheel yesterday almost ran into me instead of stopping at the stop sign–she was too busy sucking at the life support through her cell phone… Ahem. Distracted driving is a topic for another blog, I guess.

Could you do it?? Some student comments revealed unexpected benefits:

“Studying was a million times more productive without the media distracting me with texts, calls, Facebook, email, games and other random internet sites.”

“I was very productive in my schoolwork and I was able to get ahead this week with all my midterms coming up.”

“I must say a good thing that came out of this assignment was I was able to be more aware and [knowledgeable about] my surroundings while I walked to and from class. By not being able to listen to my iPod, I could hear natural sounds like birds chirping or … people calling my name.”

“This assignment allowed me to take a step back and reflect. I probably had more ‘thinking time’ that day than any day spent at college.”

The Young and Digital cover Interested in more information about the social effects of media and the Internet? Andersen Library has resources. Searching the HALCat online catalog will find titles such as The young and the digital: What the migration to social-network sites, games, and anytime, anywhere media means for our future and 24/7: how cell phones and the Internet change the way we live, work, and play.

Please ask a librarian for assistance with finding materials.

Posted in around the world | Tagged addictions, college students, electronics, media, studies, web sites | 3 Comments

More Scanners!

Posted on May 13, 2010 by kolde

The library just had four new scanners installed in order to keep up with the demand we have been seeing this last semseter. The locations are:

-1st Floor: Microfilm Room

-2nd Floor: Alcove (replacing a broken one)

-3rd Floor: Our “Blue Room” (the one with dark blue carpeting) and also in the room directly to the left of the stairs.

Scanning can be an alternative to copying and there is no charge involved. If you have any questions, please see staff at the Circulation, Reference or Periodicals desk.

Posted in around the library | Tagged library equipment, scanners | Comments Off

New Stuff Tuesday – May 11

Posted on May 11, 2010 by kyle

Buddy System

Buddy System:
Understanding Male Friendships
by Geoffrey Greif
BF575 .F66 G735 2009
New Book Island, 2nd floor

Friends come in handy this week, don’t they? At the end of the semester, they’re there to encourage you while you write three papers and study for four finals in two days (they’re also probably the main culprits of why you have so much cramming to do in the first place). They’ll also be there celebrating the end of the semester and possibly your college career. When it comes to guys and gals, we all know that the groups of individuals treat friendships differently. This week’s featured title explores the world of relationships between the two men.

Greif, a social work professor at the University of Maryland, provides a much-needed volume that sheds light on the topic of male friendships. As noted in the text, there has been plenty of attention and research on the subject of female relationships, but the men have been overlooked until now. The researcher conducted interviews, nearly four hundred of them, to see how guys view their personal connections in their lives, as well as over one hundred interviews with women to get their point of view. He contends that contrary to popular belief, males have four types of friends, from the casual acquaintance to the BFF. Greif also profiles individuals at different life stages and analyzes the impact of the male friendships on life quality. This book is highly recommended for those researching men and their bonds with their fellow man.

Posted in new stuff tuesdays | Tagged books, friendship, males, men, new stuff, psychology, relationships | Comments Off

Last star talk this spring: May 7

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Barbara

Hear Dr. Paul Rybski, UWW Physics Dept., talk about “When fusion stops, what follows: The long retirement of stars as white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes” on Fri., May 7 @8pm (Upham Hall 140), followed by public viewing at the UWW Observatory @9:15pm (weather permitting). It’s the last spring David Bertagnoli Memorial Lecture/Whitewater Observatory Lecture.

When stars initially greater than 8 solar masses end their lives in titantic explosions called supernovae, some if not all leave behind remnants unlike any stars visible today. Remnants between 1.4-4 solar masses are “neutron stars” we may observe as blinking objects (aka “pulsars“). Larger remnants are “black holes.” When smaller stars end their lives as faint but brilliantly-colored planetary nebulae, what is left behind are small remnants that radiate away the energy stored in their extremely compressed interiors over the rest of the life of the universe. Each of these objects produced by stellar evolution will be discussed, with an emphasis on how we know from observations that they exist.

Observer's Guide cover Like to learn more? Andersen Library can help! Search the HALCat online catalog for books such as Observer’s guide to stellar evolution: The birth, life, and death of stars (3rd-floor Main Collection, QB857.5.E96 I54 2003) and Through the eyes of Hubble: The birth, life, and violent death of stars (3rd-floor OVERSIZE Main Collection QB806 .N34 1998). Search article databases to find articles such as “Making black holes in supernovae” (Nuclear Physics A, 1996, vol. 606, pp.137-150) and “The most massive progenitors of neutron stars: CXO J164710.2-455216” (The Astrophysical Journal, 2008, vol.685, pp.400-405). Search the web for sites such as NASA’s “The life and death of stars.”