Library News

REGISTER NOW: IOWA RIVER BUS TOUR ON OCTOBER 19
     Register at cory-sanderson@uiowa.edu or 319 353-1021

Friday, October 19, is the first of three events focused on the Iowa River, declared endangered by the organization American Rivers.  Each event is a guided bus tour of the river with site visits along the way, followed by a reading/lecture. 

On the 19th, the bus leaves the south side of the UI Main Library at 3pm headed towards the Clear Creek Project of IIHR-Hydroscience and Engineering at South Amana.  With the help of docent Wayne Petersen of the US Conservation Service, those on the tour will follow the course of the river upstream to the Greenbelt and then to the operable hydropower dam at Iowa Falls (est. 1925).  A box supper will be served along the way.

Ted Steinberg, Adeline Barry Davee Distinguished Professor of History and Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve University, reads at 7pm in the Iowa Falls Public Library.  Steinberg is author of Nature Incorporated:  Industrialization and the Waters of New England, Acts of God:  The Unnatural History of Natural Disaster, and Down to Earth:  Nature’s Role in American History.  You can learn more about him at  http://www.case.edu/artsci/hsty/steinberg.html

All events are free and open to the public, but registration is required for the bus tour and box supper. Please RSVP by noon on Friday, October 19th. We welcome everyone at these events.  People with disabilities needing special accommodation should contact Barbara Eckstein Barbara-eckstein@uiowa.edu; 319 335-0449.

This event is sponsored by the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Perry A. and Helen Judy Bond Fund for Interdisciplinary Interaction, the Departments of English and History, and the Program in American Studies.

The lyrics of “Give Peace a Chance” express former Beatle, John Lennon’s (1940-1980) antiwar philosophy.  In commemoration of his birthday on October 9th, the Libraries’ is highlighting resources that provide a documentary history of governments’ attempts to establish peace though negotiations, armistice agreements, and treaties.  Supplementary documents related to peace talks, declassified diplomatic correspondence provide further accounts of diplomatic successes and failures.

The text of treaties from the earliest formation of the U.S. government to contemporary times are available in print or in digital format within the Government Publications Collection including Indian Treaties, treaties with foreign governments from the Revolutionary War, both World Wars, and the Korean and Viet Nam Wars eras. In addition, the United Nations Treaty Collection subscription resource includes multilateral treaties, many of which seek to promote peaceful relationships among countries.

Background information critical for better understanding of issues involved in negotiations, includes foreign policy statements, reprints of speeches, congressional testimony, position papers, and country geopolitical profiles. 

The destruction resulting from World War II brought nations together to work on peace and security issues through the United Nations. The United Nations has worked on these issues since it was founded in 1945.  As a collector of United Nations publications, the University of Iowa Libraries has an extensive collection of materials that describe and detail international efforts to maintain and promote peace in the world.  A research guide for the United Nations collection is available online at http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/govpubs/intl/un.html.

Researchers may begin their search in InfoHawk Catalog or contact Marianne Mason for help with U.S. government information and Brett Cloyd for assistance with the United Nations and international government information.

As part of the 40th Anniversary of the International Writing Program, several noted IWP alumni have returned to Iowa City. A special reading of Chinese writers is planned to celebrate. The reading will take place in the Adler Journalism Building room E105 on Thursday, October 11 from 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.

Li Rui (2002), Xi Chuan (2002), Ya Hsien (1967), and Cheng Wen-tao (1968-71), as well as IWP 2007 residents Lo Yi-chin (Taiwan), Lawrence Pun (Hong Kong) and special guest Yun He (China/The Philippines) will discuss Chinese writing and literature. Poets Xi, Ya, Cheng, and Yun will also read from their work.

The writers will also visit the Main Library to see the current exhibit “East Asia in the Midwest.”

The final lap has now begun, and we are closing in on the checkered flag. The top spots are still hotly contested. We could have a photo finish!

Follow this link to Clue #7, which begins the final lap of the race!

Race On!

The more than four million volumes that the UI Libraries owns are just the tip of the iceberg of knowlege that UI faculty, students and staff have access to. Our Interlibrary Loan department is your connection to a world of libraries. Every year the Interlibrary Loan department fills requests for more than 20,000 items!

You can request a book, thesis, video, journal article, book chapter or other research material online. This free service is available to all University of Iowa faculty, students, and staff and is done online through the Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery website.

Generally journal articles, book chapters and other short materials that are scannable are delivered to your desktop within 2 days. Books, videos or theses can be delivered, on average in 4-10 days.

The first time you login with your HawkID and password to our online Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery system, you will have to complete a one time registration form. Here is where you choose your Home Library (Hardin or Main) and your Pick-up Library (Hardin, Main or any of the branch libraries). So for example, if you are faculty, student or staff member in the health sciences, Hardin Library is the best choice for Home Library. All other departments should choose the Main Library. The Pick-up Library is where books will be sent for you to pick up – if your office is in Seashore Hall, you can choose the Psychology Library and have your books sent there for you to check out.

Once you are registered, your Interlibrary Loan account will be the place to go to do everything – submit your requests, view scanned material that has been posted, renew your books, and track the status of your outstanding requests.