The Andersen Library Blog

Steven Pinker, The Stuff of Thought

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Carol

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.

Posted in campus connection | Tagged brain research, cognitive science, psychology | Comments Off

New Stuff Tuesday – October 27

Posted on October 27, 2009 by kyle

Galápagos at the Crossroads

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!

Posted in new stuff tuesdays | Tagged books, Darwin, evolution, history, nature, new stuff | Comments Off

American History Videos & the 1918 Influenza

Posted on October 22, 2009 by Barbara

Through November 15th we have access to Alexander Street Press’s “American History in Video” collection, which contains more than 1500 titles (500 hours) of newsreels and documentaries from such sources as PBS.

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!

Posted in online @ the library | Tagged 1918 flu, databases, documentaries, history, influenza, video | Comments Off

Featured Resource: Sustainability

Posted on October 21, 2009 by kyle

Happy Campus Sustainability Day!

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!

Posted in featured resource | Comments Off

New Stuff Tuesday – October 20

Posted on October 20, 2009 by kyle

Our Lot

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.

Posted in new stuff tuesdays | Tagged books, business, economics, housing, new stuff, real estate | Comments Off

Find the Wall Street Journal Online

Posted on October 19, 2009 by kyle

I’ve gotten a few questions about needing to find articles from the Wall Street Journal. Conveniently enough, we have access to WSJ back to 1984 through Proquest’s ABI/Inform.

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

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.
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.

Posted in around the library, tips for research | Tagged articles, business, newspapers, Wall Street Journal | Comments Off

Homecoming: The ’90s

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Barbara

It’s Homecoming Week @UWW! “The ’90s: Lived ’em, Loved ’em, Never Left ’em.”

Friends DVD set photo 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. The Physics of the Buffyverse cover 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). Magic Eye I, II, III covers 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)

Clone cover 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.

Posted in around the library, campus connection | Tagged 1990s, 90s, books, DVDs, history, homecoming, music, sound recordings, television series, video games, videorecordings | Comments Off

Borrow from other UW libraries

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Barbara

Is UWW’s copy of a book or DVD checked out? Or does Andersen Library not have the title you need? UWW students and staff can search other UW libraries and borrow from them for free using “Universal Borrowing.”

Here’s a little video (made with Jing) that shows you how.

Requested materials arrive in 2-4 weekdays (no weekend delivery van). You receive an email to your campus email account alerting you to pick up your requested item(s) at the Circulation Desk. More information about “UB” is online, or ask a librarian.

Posted in around the library | Tagged UB, universal borrowing | Comments Off

New Stuff Tuesday – October 13

Posted on October 13, 2009 by kyle

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Work

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Work:
A Research Companion
By Mustafa Özbilgin
HF5549.5 .M5 E68 2009
New Book Island, 2nd floor

Equality has become a major issue at the forefront of every debate, whether it be health care, education or civil rights. Many people strive to ensure that the voices of everyone are respected and represented, and rightfully so. Our university system has taken to gauging the campus climate at each institution, and we’re currently undergoing that process (and by the way, take the campus climate survey if you haven’t – you have until Thursday!). Of course, the workplace is another venue in which battles can still take place, and this week’s featured title examines the current state of equality in that setting.

Özbilgin, professor of HR management in the UK, has pulled together thirty-one chapters on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI for short) in the office, which cover the sociological and psychological aspects of the topic. The edited volume includes a section on the education of others, such as diversity trainings or seminars and their effectiveness, as well as a part dealing with the role of men in EDI. With scholars contributing from all over the world, the book provides an excellent international perspective to the subject of diversity.

Posted in new stuff tuesdays | Tagged books, diversity, human resources, new stuff | Comments Off