New Stuff Tuesday – May 19

Posted on May 19, 2009 by kyle

The Television Will Be Revolutionized

The Television Will Be Revolutionized:
By Amanda Lotz
PN1992.5 .L68 2007
New Book Island, 2nd floor

According to the Nielsen’s Three-Screen Report (PDF), Americans watch a lot of video, between using the traditional TV, internet and mobile devices. Now that the semester is (pretty much) over, it means that some of you might have more time on your hands to do just that. This week’s featured title looks at how the most popular and powerful medium is transforming in these changing times.

Lotz, assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Michigan and self-described “early adopter of television gear,” examines the television in the “post-network era,” in which all aspects of the medium, from production to distribution, have multiplied. Technological innovations like DVR and iPods have freed consumers from time constraints, content creation has found new new modes of financing and advertising isn’t relegated to the commercials. The author delves into each of these considerations of the television as well as audience measurement and the future possibilities for digital storytelling in this thought-provoking volume on the (r)evolution of a household necessity.

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Stay On Top of the Market

Posted on May 15, 2009 by kyle

There’s existing home sales, consumer prices, unemployment, retail sales… the list keeps going. Staying atop of the latest economic trends is a full-time job for many people. You could watch the nightly news or check Wall Street Journal or CNN for the day’s reports of announcements and analysis. But what if there a way to proactively be ahead of the curve?

Econoday allows you to plan ahead and find out what market indicators are being released. The information provider’s website includes an economic calendar that lists when the government and other organizations will announce the latest numbers. Furthermore, they also provide explanations as to why these numbers matter. Although they don’t also post the releases themselves, they do list the responsible agencies from which you can locate them on your own.

This resource is also useful if you’re looking historically at the market reactions. If you saw that the S&P 500 went down by a large margin, it may have been due to one of these indicators.

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State Dept.’s State magazine

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Barbara

State, the U.S. State Dept.’s glossy monthly magazine, is aimed at Dept. employees at home or abroad, but it’s available online to everyone, including prospective employees wanting to know more about the Dept.

There’s a lot of news that’s not interesting to outsiders, like retirements and employee awards, but each issue also highlights a “Post of the Month” accompanied by beautiful full-color photos. For example, the 2009 issues so far have featured posts in
State April 2009 cover

  • Geneva, Switzerland (January, pp.24-30),
  • Adana, Turkey (February, pp.26-31),
  • Santiago, Chile (March, pp.20-25), and
  • Kolonia, Micronesia (April, pp.24-29).

Many issues feature an “Office of the Month” that shines a light on various State Dept. units.

And then among the brief articles are unexpected gems, like “Save the tigers: Bureau helps target illegal wildlife trade” (December 2008, pp.16-17), which both inform and entice (Did you know? Illicit trade in wildlife is valued at $10 billion+ annually and Harrison Ford did PSAs for Conservation International in 2007). Though very brief, these articles can spark one’s curiosity and motivate a search for additional information.

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!

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The Library is the Place to Be!

Posted on May 13, 2009 by kyle

Finals have started, and we know that without looking at the calendar.

According to Patty, our Circulation Coordinator, our numbers have been through the roof. Tuesday’s gate count (the number of individuals leaving the library) totaled 2,689 – the largest number since May 1997. Monday’s gate count was also impressive, coming to 2,371 – highest since May 2006. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

Good luck on finals – we’ll be open until 2 AM all week so that you can study!

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Local Genealogy Workshop

Posted on May 12, 2009 by goldsmid

Interested in learning more about your kinfolk?  Don’t know where to start?  Attend the FREE informal presentation this Saturday in Whitewater.

Who: Walworth County Genealogical Society

What: “Who, What, Where, When & Why: This is for YOU” presentation. Designed to be an introduction to doing genealogical research.

When: SAT. MAY 16th,  9:30 A.M.

Where: Irvin L. Young Public Library, 431 Center St., Whitewater, WI.

Cost: FREE

After attending be sure to contact the Area Research Center in the UW-Whitewater Library to begin your search.  We are here to help you discover your roots, regardless of where you came from.

Here’s a couple of the books we have in Special Collections that can be helpful to beginners just getting started.

Unpuzzling Your Past

The Genealogist’s Handbook

Land & Property Research in the United States

Hope to see you soon.  –UW-W Archives Staff

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New Stuff Tuesday – May 12

Posted on May 12, 2009 by kyle

The Big Squeeze

The Big Squeeze:
Tough Times for the American Worker
By Steven Greenhouse
HD8072.5 .G74 2008
New Book Island, 2nd floor

When it comes to today’s news, it seems like everyone is living and breathing the economy. Conservations center around downsizing and budget cuts. The media analysts discuss and argue the global economic [insert more negative synonym for recession here]. With Governor Doyle’s proposal for dealing with the crisis, it’s becoming more real than ever. This week’s featured title looks at the experience of the American worker, from a human perspective.

At first glance, Greenhouse’s book may seem like more propaganda about the present economic situation. However, the author actually focuses his attention on the actual employees and their working conditions (obviously not factoring in current events). He examines the impacts of political, business and social trends and the effects on the American workplace over the past several decades. He contends that the employers’ ability to offer stable incomes and peace of mind for its employees has been replaced over the years by corporate greed for higher profits at any cost. Greenhouse isn’t completely pessimistic: he does laud the employee-friendly companies and also offers solutions to alleviate the strain on the work force.

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Federal Gov’t Information is Diverse

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Barbara

While reviewing some recently-received U.S. Government publications, I was struck once again by the great variety of topics on which the Government publishes:
Covers of various govt documents

And these are just the tip of the iceberg, a very small sampling of what’s available. So don’t discount government sources, for academic research papers or real-world applications.

How do you find them? Many are in the Library Catalog and show up in your search results, along with other Library materials such as books and videos. You can also do a Google search limited to government sites: either go to Google’s special U.S. Government Search or, when using regular Google, add site:.gov to your search.

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!

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Library Exam Hours

Posted on May 8, 2009 by Barbara

The Library will be open special hours for exams:

images of students studying

  • Mon., May 11: 7:30am-2am
  • Tues.-Thurs., May 12-14: 6am-2am
  • Fri., May 15: 6am-10pm
  • Sat., May 16: 9am -10pm
  • Sun., May 17: 9am-2am
  • Mon., May 18: 6am-2am
  • Tues., May 19: 6am-6pm

Good luck, everyone!

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Keep up with aerospace research

Posted on May 7, 2009 by Barbara

NASA Star coverWant to scan new publications related to aerospace research? Try Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports (STAR), an “online publication listing citations and abstracts of NASA and worldwide aerospace-related research.” It’s updated biweekly, and you can sign up for an email alert.

In each issue you can skip to the section(s) of interest to you, e.g., “Geosciences” or “Physics.” Some entries link to full text online. Otherwise you can use Library resources such as the Journal Holdings List to see if you have access to the full text.

Being a librarian I sometimes skim the “Social & Information Sciences” section, and at times I find things there most people wouldn’t expect to find in a listing of aerospace-related research. One of my favorite recent finds (because I love reading science fiction including Robert Heinlein‘s novels):

Robert A. Heinlein’s Influence on Spaceflight (Book Chapter)
In: Dick, Steven J. (ed.); Remembering the Space Age: Proceedings of the 50th Anniversary Conference; 2008, pp. 341-352;
ONLINE: http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20090013356
“Robert Heinlein is one of the most influential science fiction authors of all time. His writings not only inspired numerous people to enter the sciences and engineering in general — and the field of spaceflight in particular — but also shaped the way that people thought about spaceflight. Thus, even though Sputnik was a strategic surprise for the USA, there were legions of young Americans predisposed to step up and get to work on the challenging task of winning the space race. Heinlein’s influence can currently be seen in the activities of numerous private spaceflight entrepreneurs.”

If you’re interested in Heinlein’s books, several are available at Andersen Library. Search the Library Catalog, or ask a librarian for assistance.

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!

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May Feature: OED Online

Posted on May 6, 2009 by Susan

Ever come across an unusual word and wonder how it ever came into the language? Well, if you have, check out the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), an online database from the Andersen Library.

This enormous online source contains the complete text of the OED’s twenty-volume print second edition and draft material from the current OED project. Not only will you find definitions, pronunciation information, and the part of speech to over 600,000 English words, but this dictionary also traces the word’s development (the “etymology” of words). Using quotations from around the English-speaking world, the OED helps demonstrate how the English language has changed and continues to change. Some word entries go back fifteen hundred years!

To search the OED online, just type a word in the search box and enter.

See a short tutorial of how to use the simple search in the OED.

OED screenshot

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