Wednesday, Dec. 2 and Thursday, Dec. 3, noon-1:30 pm.
Information Arcade Classroom 1 at the Main Library

This workshop is geared to the experienced Web searcher and will be especially useful for graduate students. Emphasis will be on using the Google family of search products, particularly Google Books and Google Scholar, for scholarly research. Time will be provided for practice searches and advice on particular research needs.

No registration is required but seating is limited.

Saturday, November 21  10am-2pm

Sunday, November 22  12pm-4pm

Monday, November 23-Wednesday, November 26  7:30am-6pm

Closed Thursday, November 27-Friday, November 28

Saturday, November 29  10am-2pm

Sunday, November 30  12pm-9pm

Regular hours resume Monday, December 1. 

24-hour study & computer lab available when library is closed.

Mr. Schaefer, archivist at Herbert Hoover Presidential Library,  will be speaking on “Iowa Doctors and the Germ Theory of Disease.” 

The lecture will be at The University of Iowa Main Library, Room 2032 on Wednesday, November 18 at 5:30pm.
Main Library floor plan       Main Library parking

 

Gerardus Blasius (1626?-1692?).  Anatome animalium.  Amsterdam, 1681.

 Although Blasius was a practicing physician in Amsterdam, his real interest lay in anatomy and, in particular, comparative anatomy.  He worked closely with philosophers and scientists such as John Locke, Jan Swammerdam, and Niels Stensen to promote the study of anatomy and to widen the availability of both animal and human remains for closer study.  Balsius’ 1681 work  is his most ambitious project and, according to historian Francis J. Cole, is the “first comprehensive manual of comparative anatomy based on the original researches of a working anatomist…”  While the author provides meticulously detailed descriptions of 119 species, it is the eye-catching images that capture the reader’s attention.  

Anatome animalium

As usual during this period, the artists and engravers receive no recognition and remain unknown, with the exception of the highly emblematic frontispiece which is the work of the Dutch illustrator and engraver Jan Luyken (1649-1712).

Questions? Give us a call at 335-9151 or email us at lib-hardin@uiowa.edu.

Kathleen M. Stokker, PhD, Director of Scandinavian Studies, Luther College speak on:

Norwegian Folk Medicine on the American Prairie

5:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Main Library, University of Iowa, Room  2032
Free and open to the public

Light refreshments will be served

by Dr. William Sivitz, Professor of Internal Medicine

I recently published an article in PlosOne (Mitochondrial Targeted Coenzyme Q, Superoxide, and Fuel Selectivity in Endothelial Cells by Brian D. Fink, Yunxia O’Malley, Brian L. Dake, Nicolette C. Ross, Thomas E. Prisinzano, and William I. Sivitz). I found the process straightforward and faster than most other journals. The peer review was thorough but fair. I hope to see this used more frequently.

by Dr. Michael Knudson, Association Professor of Pathology

We published in Plos One and found it a very satisfying experience.  Quick, insightful reviews, no charge for color figures and no copyright forms to sign.

The journal allows readers to provide feedback and ratings of each article.  I would recommend Open Access to all.

by Dr. Christopher Squier, Professor, College of Dentistry and Christine White, Librarian, College of Dentistry

Traditionally, the cost of publishing articles in print journals has been borne (apart from page charges for lengthy articles or colored illustrations) by the publisher, based on income, from subscriptions from readers or libraries. This is reasonable considering the high cost of supporting the scholarship that forms the basis of a publication. With open access articles, however, there is now a movement towards freely providing the material to the reader but shifting the cost of publication on the scholar. Fees, which may range from $500 to $3000, are requested from the author, although in a few situations, voluntary donations are solicited to help support a journal (e.g., Edward H. Angle Society of Orthodontists / Angle Orthodontist), or the publication may be subsidized by a publisher’s other journals, as acknowledged by PLoS. Other mechanisms include support from advertisers, such as the Journal of Chemical Education, which notes that “advertising in the Journal plays a significant role in helping to keep your subscription affordable,” or sponsored by an open access individual/institutional membership fee, which provides discounts to authors based on the number of articles submitted for publication (e.g., Bentham Open: http://bentham.org/open/).

There are good reasons to resist moving the costs of publication from the publisher to the author, even when there may be grant or institutional funding to support this. The major objection is the temptation to base publication on the ability to pay rather than on the quality of work, as determined by peers. When costs are passed onto grants or academic institutions, the sponsor is, in effect, paying twice: once for the cost of doing the research and again to publish it, and the support available for new research is reduced. Of course, it could be argued that the institution pays when it purchases subscriptions, but because a large number of academic and industrial organizations all do this, the cost is spread over a large pool.

Should the reader be allowed free access as well as open access? Should the traditional balance be kept between authors, institutions and publishers? These are questions that we must continue to discuss.