Library News

With over 100,000 books, 45,000 newspapers, and 100,000 government documents published in the US each year, in addition to the 27 million sites on the Internet, you know the information you need has to be out there.

Now, if you only knew where to start. How about with your librarian? Every student at the University of Iowa has a Subject Specialist Librarian.

Always in the know with the most current information, librarians at the University of Iowa can help you find the latest research in your field, help you evaluate information resources you find on the web and help you locate the best answers to your questions.

With graduate degrees in library and information studies, librarians are highly qualified information specialists, using technology, such as databases and the Internet, as just some of the tools of their trade.

With five million volumes, the University of Iowa Libraries may be the largest library you’ve ever used. And it is easy to be unsure of where to start, librarians help you find it. Our librarians help to ensure all people have access to information and the skills to effectively access, use and evaluate information in all formats.

If you are overwhelmed by the avalanche of information, your librarian can help you find it. Your search is easy. You’ll find their unparalleled expertise @ your library.

Welcome back to campus and to the University Libraries. This summer has been a busy one at the Main Library. I wanted to share some of the highlights.

• Group Study spaces have been added to the Second Floor of the Main Library. These are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
• We’ve replaced the badly worn chairs in the Graduate Student Carrels and the Faculty Studies in the Main Library with more comfortable seating.
• Laptop-checkout has moved to the first floor Information/Reference desk.
• Media Services has merged with Main Library Circulation Desk to provide a single location to place course reserves (books and media), to check out materials (books and media).
• The Art Library moved into the Main Library (2nd floor west) from Art Building West, which is still closed due to last summer’s flooding. Now students and faculty have direct access to the collection. Art library staff has offices on the 2nd floor adjacent to the collection.
• The Information Arcade is transitioning to a center for digital research and scholarship. Managed by Digital Library Services, the Arcade will be home to: digital library initiatives, faculty/librarian partnerships in e-research, Iowa Digital Library and Iowa Research Online.

These transitions are some of our efforts to maintain the high level of service and academic support that students and faculty need.

For information about these changes and news of library happenings, check the Libraries’ website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or the subject specialist librarian in your field.

Nancy L. Baker, University Librarian

Each semester hundreds of students work at the University of Iowa Libraries, and you can too.

• Flexible Schedules. You can work 7 to 20 hours a week from early morning shifts to late night.
• Multiple Locations. The UI Libraries has 9 convenient locations across campus, both the east side and west side of the river.
• Variety of Jobs. There are all kinds of things to do to keep the library running: customer service, clerical, re-shelving or security.
• Pay. We offer a competitive $7.25/hour wage.
• Learn about Library Resources. You’ll become familiar with the information resources the library offers students, which can give you an advantage when it comes time for your next paper.

Come check out all the student job opportunities at the UI Libraries during the Job Fair on Thursday, August 27, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the IMU.

The University of Iowa prohibits discrimination in employment, educational programs, and activities on the basis of race, national origin, color, creed, religion, sex, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or associational preference. The University also affirms its commitment to providing equal opportunities and equal access to University facilities. For additional information on nondiscrimination policies, contact the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, (319) 335-0705 (voice) and (319) 335-0697 (text), 202 Jessup Hall, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1316.

Now you can check out books, journals AND media materials from one location in the Main Library – the South Circulation Desk. All materials held and equipment available in the former Media Services are available in the new renovated space at the South Circulation Desk, located in the southwest corner of the Main Library’s 1st floor.

Media materials (videos) placed on course reserve will now be available at the South Circulation Desk with other course reserves.

Videos placed on hold are available for pick-up at the North Circulation Desk with the other library materials placed on hold, which is available all hours that the Main Library is open.

Staff at the South Circulation Desk can retrieve materials and assist you with any questions about the media collection. Contact them directly at lib-media-services@uiowa.edu or 319-335-5912.

An overdue renovation of the Maps Department in the Main Library was completed this summer. The old, worn carpet was replaced with tile. The walls were painted and the collection was re-organized. While this may not seems like a massive undertaking, the key challenge was the temporary relocation of dozens of map cases.

Each of these cases was moved into the corridor or the Government Documents Reading Room on the third floor. Then after all of the work was completed in the department, the cases were returned to their original home.

Today, the Maps collection staff is back to business as usual – in a clean, updated department.

Testing the fire alarms in Main Library is scheduled for Monday, August 17, 2009.  This testing will take approximately 8 hours.  It will involve testing strobes and speakers. Air handlers will also be shut down briefly.

If you have questions, please contact the Work Control Center at 335-5071.

This is your last week to register for this FREE census workshop.

The decennial census has been called the statistical national family portrait that is taken every ten years.  The next snapshot is scheduled for April 1, 2010 and there will be big changes in the process. The constitutionally mandated census counts heads, families, housing facts, and social, demographic and economic characteristics.  The results may alter the boundaries of legislative districts, the apportionment of legislators within a district and allocated government funding.

On August 21, 2009, The University of Iowa Libraries’ will sponsor a workshop covering the important changes that researchers and information providers must know about the 2010 census.  Participants will go on virtual tours of resources and have hands-on practice with web-based information sources. 

Two speakers will present different perspectives on the upcoming 2010 census: Matthew Milbrodt, Information Services Specialist, Bureau of Census, Kansas City Regional Office, and Beth Henning, Coordinator, State Data Center Program, State Library of Iowa.

When:  Friday, August 21, 2009 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Where:  Information Arcade, Classroom 1, Main Library, University of Iowa Libraries’
map of campus and parking options (note: the closest parking ramp is at the University Capitol Centre)

Cost:  No-Fee, but registration is required to accommodate space planning.

The number of workstations is limited so, please submit your registration by August 17th to reserve your place.  Questions?  Contact Marianne Mason by e-mail or by phone (319) 335-5538.

The Art Library collection has made its journey across the river from Art Building West to the Main Library. When we learned that Art Building West would not be ready and approved for re-occupancy when previously anticipated (by January, 2010), we decided to move the collection to the Main Library to improve accessibility. Previously anyone wanting materials from the art collection had to make a formal request for the materials to be retrieved. Now students, faculty and other library users will have direct access to the collection.

Art Library and Music Library staff have co-located in room 2006, which is adjacent to the both collections. Library users will also find current journal issues, media and course reserves in Art and Music here.

To reach a member of the Art Library staff, please email (lib-art@uiowa.edu) or call 319-335-3086. To reach a member of the Music Library staff, please email (lib-music@uiowa.edu) or call 319- 335-3086.

The Main Library ITC, located on the east side of the 2nd floor, is the largest facility on campus with over 200 desktop computers (both PC and Macintosh platforms). Laptop computers are available for check out at the Information/Reference Desk on the first floor of the Main Library. They may be used anywhere in the Main Library.

In the Main Library, printing problems (paper, toner, jams) will be handled by staff at the Information/Reference desk. Technical support will be handled by ITS Help Desk via phone, email, live chat or in person on the second floor of University Capitol Centre, one block away.

Writing and reading are at the center of what we do at the University of Iowa and an essential component of Iowa City’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature, yet a book festival has been missing from our cultural landscape. The University of Iowa Libraries, in partnership with the University of Iowa Press, is very pleased to launch a campus and community event that will fill the void — The Iowa City Book Festival.

The Iowa City Book Festival is a day-long celebration of books, reading and writing. We envision it as an event that could become an annual tradition in our city. This first year will commemorate of the acquisition of the University of Iowa Libraries’ 5 millionth volume and the 40th anniversary of the University of Iowa Press.

Please spend the day visiting the local and regional booksellers, who have set up shop in Gibson Square Park. You may want to sit in the shade and peruse your purchases and enjoy some live music. We also have a full schedule of readings, discussions and workshops that I’m sure you’ll find informative and entertaining.

Before you leave, please tell us what you think. You can find surveys in all of the sessions, at the Information Booth in Gibson Square and on the Festival website (www.iowacitybookfestival.org).

Touching Home is a coming of age story about a homeless father struggling to make amends with his twin sons as they pursue professional baseball. It is a courageous and honest portrayal of a family fighting to overcome the pain of wasted years and the crushing forces of addiction.

Three months after their homeless father died in jail, twin filmmakers, Logan and Noah Miller, cornered Ed Harris in an alley outside the Castro Theatre and pitched him on their autobiographical movie, Touching Home. Nine days later Harris called and wanted the role.

Not only did the self-taught Miller Brothers write, produce and direct Touching Home, but they also star in the movie alongside Harris and fellow Oscar nominated actors Brad Dourif and Robert Foster.

The Miller Brothers will introduce the film before screenings on Friday, July 17 at 10 p.m. and Saturday, July 18 at 4 p.m. during the Iowa City Book Festival. The film will be shown in Shambaugh Auditorium in the Main Library on the University of Iowa campus.

Admission is FREE and open to the public, no tickets are required.

“Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year in Food Life” by Barbara Kingsolver, with Steven L. Hopp and Camille Kingsolver, is the 2009 selection for “One Community, One Book.”

The project promotes insights on human rights in the United States and across the globe and is coordinated by the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights (UICHR) in conjunction with other sponsoring organizations from Johnson County and the UI.

The goal of the project is to encourage people to read and discuss the selected book in order to develop a greater community awareness of human rights issues locally, nationally and internationally.

“Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” tells the story of how Kingsolver and her family for one year deliberately ate food produced in the place where they live. Kingsolver wrote the central narrative, and her husband, Steven Hopp, wrote in-depth sidebars about various aspects of food-production science and industry. Kingsolver’s 19-year-old daughter, Camille, wrote brief essays on the local-food project, plus nutritional information, meal plans and recipes.

“Although this does not sound like our typical human-rights themed book, this book acknowledges that there is a right to adequate food for all humans, that not everyone can afford to make these kinds of food choices and that climate change can diminish the ability to grow food,” said Joan Nashelsky, UICHR project assistant and One Community, One Book co-organizer. “With strong local interest in sustainable agriculture, the effects of climate change on agriculture, the local food movement and the ECO Iowa City grant administered by the Iowa City Public Library and the City of Iowa City Public Works Division, the time seems right for a book with broader human rights issues close to home.”

Nashelsky coordinates the project with volunteer Pat Schnack. ECO Iowa City is a grant-funded initiative to improve environmental sustainability in Iowa City.

Kingsolver’s 12 books of fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction include the novels “The Bean Trees” and “The Poisonwood Bible.” Translated into 19 languages, her work has won a devoted worldwide readership and many awards, including the National Humanities Medal.

Hopp teaches environmental studies at Emory and Henry College and conducts research in bioacoustics and the natural history of vireos, a group of small to medium-sized perching birds.

Camille Kingsolver attends Duke University, where she studies biology, anatomy and dance.

The “One Community, One Book” project will run from mid-September through mid-November. Teachers, students, librarians, book groups and others are encouraged to participate. By announcing the selection now, the project sponsors hope to allow time for groups to read the book and participate in fall community discussion forums, and for teachers to plan classroom discussions around the book.

In addition to UICHR, past project sponsors have included the UI International Writing Program, Prairie Lights Books, the UI Libraries, Iowa City Public Library, Coralville Public Library, North Liberty Community Library, Hancher Auditorium, Hills Bank & Trust Company, Iowa Book LLC, Iowa City Human Rights Commission, Solon Public Library, UI Charter Committee on Human Rights, UI Department of English, the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, UI Department of History, UI International Programs and University Book Store. Iowa City High School and West High School have also participated.

For more information, contact UICHR at 319-335-3900 or uichr@uiowa.edu.

As part of the Maps Department makeover this summer, an abatement team is removing asbestos tiles. They will remove the old tiles and glue/mastic. The mastic removal utilizes a citrusy-smelling chemical. Though the space has been well ventilated to the outside, the odor is still present throughout the lower levels of the Main Library. The abatement project is scheduled to be completed by Thursday, June 25 (tomorrow).

Currently Maps Department staff, Mary McInroy and Paula Balkenende are working from the Information Arcade on the first floor of the Main Library. The map cases have been moved into the hallways and government publications reading room on the third floor.

If you have questions or need assistance with the Map Collection, please contact Mary and Paula via email (lib-maps@uiowa.edu).

The University of Iowa Libraries, in consultation with the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), implemented MINES (Measuring the Impact of Networked Electronic Services) during the summer of 2007. MINES is an online transaction-based survey designed to collect data on the purpose and frequency of use of electronic resources. The survey asks three multimple choice questions during 2-hour random intervals once a month. The third and final implementation on MINES began on  January 27, 2009 and will continue through December 1, 2009.

Highlights from the 2008 report:

• The majority of the users are from the graduate college, and the medical and liberal arts and sciences fields.
• The Libraries’ resources are mainly used from a non-library location on campus (36.6%), but accessing resources using the campus library (27.75%) and off campus locations (35.65%) follow closely.
• The primary purpose of use of the University of Iowa Libraries’ resources is for personal research (36.66%) with coursework representing an important second highest category of use (31.59%).
• The total number of respondents increased between 2007 (n=5,351) and 2008 (n=6,468).
• Graduate/professional students comprised over 40% of the Libraries’ electronic networked resources uses in 2007 (n=2,176, 40.7%) and 2008 (n=2,726, 42.2%).

After prepping the Maps area last week, the actual abatement efforts began earlier today. Despite best intentions (and methods) a citrus-like smell can be detected in some areas of the building. We expect abatement to continue for much of this week.

If the smell causes a problem for you, please consider using one of the other libraries on campus:

1. Lichtenberger Engineering Library is directly across the street in the Seamans Center for Engineering.
2. Pomerantz Business Library located in the Pappajohn Business Building has seating on two levels.
3. Biological Sciences Library on Iowa Avenue provides quiet corners for individual studying.
4. Hardin Library for the Health Sciences located on the health sciences campus offers a 24-hour study room.

University Facilities staff are preparing the Map Collection for asbestos abatement, which should begin next Tuesday.

While the abatement project is underway, Map Collection’s entrance will be in the short hallway, to the east of the copy machines on third floor.

The Map Collection and staff are still available to people needing to use the resources. For more information, please contact the Map Collection (lib-maps@uiowa.edu).

Join us for the final evening in the six-part series When the World Spoke Arabic: The Golden Age of Arab Civilization.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 7PM, ICPL, Meeting Rm. A

“From Arabic to Latin: The Assimilation of Arab Knowledge” (26 min.)
As dissension mounted between the rival Arab dynasties in Baghdad, Cordoba and Cairo, Christendom rallied to oppose the Muslims in Spain and Jerusalem. This program plots out the decline of the Empire of the Caliphate and the acquisition of Arab knowledge by Europeans starved for Islam’s intellectual riches.

“Forgetting the Arabs: Europe on the Cusp of the Renaissance” (27 min.)
Why was Islamic philosophy, once the epitome of Arab learning, eventually rejected by Muslims? And why, after assimilating it, did Europeans distance themselves from its formulators? This program seeks to understand the religious climate of the late Middle Ages, in which universities and madrassas became centers of power and models for evolving sociopolitical systems.

The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City Public Library, UI Middle East and Muslim World Studies Program, African Studies Program, and Medieval Studies Program are sponsors of this film series.

All films will be introduced by Edward Miner, International Studies Bibliographer, University of Iowa Libraries, with discussion to follow. This film series will be shown in conjunction with an exhibition of the same name in the north foyer of the University of Iowa Main Library. For more information, contact Edward Miner at (319)335-5883 or edward-miner@uiowa.edu.

Flooring replacement, including asbestos abatement, will begin in the Map Collection on May 18 and in the School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) on May 21. Both departments are located on the third floor of the Main Library. The Map Collection project is expected to last through mid-August. The SLIS project should be completed by the beginning of June.

Map Collection will still be open as much as possible, and accessible via another door during the first phase and through the regular door during the second phase. It is very likely the department will close irregularly during normal hours. 

Map Collection visitors are strongly encouraged to call (319-335-5920) or e-mail (lib-maps@uiowa.edu) ahead to make arrangements.

The School of Library and Information Science will remain open regular summer hours. For questions about the project in SLIS, please contact the school at 319-335-5707 or e-mail (slis@uiowa.edu).

Again this semester, due to popular demand, the UI Main Library will be open 24 hours starting Sunday, May 10 at 11 a.m. through Friday, May 15 at 10 p.m.

Computers in the ITC on the second floor will be available all night.

Research assistance will be available at the first floor information desk until MIDNIGHT.

Nite Ride has also extended hours over finals week, so if you need a ride home just give them a call (319-384-1111).

Hardin Library for the Health Sciences and the Pomerantz Business Library are open until MIDNIGHT. A 24-hour study space is available at Hardin.

Biological Sciences, Lichtenberger Engineering, Geoscience, Mathematical Sciences and Psychology Libraries are open until 8 p.m. The Physics Library is open until 7 p.m.

For more information about library hours during finals week, check online at www.lib.uiowa.edu/locations/hours.html.

Join us for the fifth evening of the six-part series When the World Spoke Arabic: The Golden Age of Arab Civilization.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 7PM, ICPL, Meeting Rm. A

“The Thousand and One Nights: A Historical Perspective” (27 min.)
Encompassing fairy tales, romances, legends, fables, parables, and anecdotes, The Thousand and One Nights is a composite of popular oral stories that developed over several centuries, mainly during the Empire of the Caliphate. This program scrutinizes the wonderfully audacious tale of Scheherazade and what it tells the attentive reader about the dreams of Arab men and women during the empire’s golden age.

“Ulema and Philosophers: Faith vs. Reason in Islamic Arabia” (26 min.)
By replacing paganism with monotheism and tribal life with empire-building, the Arabs of the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties effected a complete paradigm shift in their worldview. This program studies the codification of Islamic law and assimilation of non-Arab texts—and the ensuing competition between the ulema, or doctors of the law, and the philosophers, who saw reason as an equal to divine enlightenment.

The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City Public Library, UI Middle East and Muslim World Studies Program, African Studies Program, and Medieval Studies Program are sponsors of this film series.

All films will be introduced by Edward Miner, International Studies Bibliographer, University of Iowa Libraries, with discussion to follow. This film series will be shown in conjunction with an exhibition of the same name in the north foyer of the University of Iowa Main Library. For more information, contact Edward Miner at (319)335-5883 or edward-miner@uiowa.edu.

Join us for the fourth evening in a six-part series of When the World Spoke Arabic: The Golden Age of Arab Civilization.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 7PM, ICPL, Meeting Rm. A

“The Secrets of the Human Body: Islam’s Contributions to Medicine” (27 min.)
This program investigates the practice of medicine during the Abbasid Caliphate, offering profiles of Jurjis ibn Jibrail, personal doctor to Caliph al-Mansur; Yuhanna ibn Masawayh, head of Caliph al-Ma’amun’s House of Wisdom; Rhazes, whose Kitab al-hawi outlines an exemplary clinical approach; Avicenna, universally known for his Canon of Medicine; and Abul Qasim al-Zahrawi, the father of modern surgery.

“Everything under the Sun: Astronomy, Mathematics, and Islam” (26 min.)
Picking up mathematics and astronomy from where the ancient Greeks had left off, Arab scholars paved the way for the Copernican revolution and the rebirth of science in Europe. This program reveals the Empire of the Caliphate’s role in developing the Indo-Arabic decimal system, algebra, and algorithms and in refining the science of optics and the Ptolemaic model of the solar system.

The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City Public Library, UI Middle East and Muslim World Studies Program, African Studies Program, and Medieval Studies Program are sponsors of this film series.

All films will be introduced by Edward Miner, International Studies Bibliographer, University of Iowa Libraries, with discussion to follow. This film series will be shown in conjunction with an exhibition of the same name in the north foyer of the University of Iowa Main Library. For more information, contact Edward Miner at (319)335-5883 or edward-miner@uiowa.edu.

Join us for the third evening in the six-part series When the World Spoke Arabic: The Golden Age of Arab Civilization.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 7PM, ICPL, Meeting Rm. A

“The Muslim Town: Urban Life under the Caliphate” (27 min.)
Although the first towns the Arabs founded during the expansion of Arabia were only vast campsites, it was not long before their temporary dwellings gave way to the magnificent signature architecture of Arabian culture. What was it like to live in the Arab cities of the Abbasid dynasty, grand oases of refinement and innovation?

“An Art of Living: Arab Aesthetics in 9th-Century Spain” (27 min.)
As life among the aristocracy in Damascus and Baghdad attained its zenith of refinement, another important cultural center was developing in Islamic Cordoba. This program focuses on the remarkable cultural contributions of Ziryab, a talented young musician who fled the East for Andalusia and became the era’s preeminent arbiter of style and taste.

The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City Public Library, UI Middle East and Muslim World Studies Program, African Studies Program, and Medieval Studies Program are sponsors of this film series.

All films will be introduced by Edward Miner, International Studies Bibliographer, University of Iowa Libraries, with discussion to follow. This film series will be shown in conjunction with an exhibition of the same name in the north foyer of the University of Iowa Main Library. For more information, contact Edward Miner at (319)335-5883 or edward-miner@uiowa.edu.

The State Historical Society of Iowa’s popular “History for Lunch” lecture series continues this month with Janet Weaver, assistant curator of the Iowa Women’s Archives at the University of Iowa.

History for Lunch will be at noon Wednesday, March 25, 2009, at SHSI’s Centennial Building, 402 Iowa Avenue (Iowa and Gilbert streets) in Iowa City. The lecture is free and the public is encouraged to bring a brown bag lunch. Call 319-335-3911 for more information.

Weaver’s discussion, “Of Buttons and Barrios: Iowa Women Activists for Labor and Civil Rights, 1910-1960,” focuses on the agency of Eastern Iowa women in the long struggle for social and economic justice that preceded landmark legislative gains of the 20th century.

“Whether button workers in Muscatine or factory workers who lived in Mexican barrios in the Quad Cities, the activism of working-class Iowa women of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds challenges us to reconsider our understanding of early to mid-century Iowa history,” Weaver said.

Weaver earned a master’s degree in modern history at St. Andrews University in Scotland and is the author of a forthcoming article in the Summer 2009 issue of “Annals of Iowa” entitled, “From Barrio to ‘¡Boicoteo!’: The Emergence of Mexican American Activism in Davenport, Iowa, 1917-1970.”

The State Historical Society of Iowa is a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, and is a trustee of Iowa’s historical legacy and an advocate for understanding Iowa’s past. It identifies, records, collects, preserves, manages and provides access to Iowa’s historical resources. Its dual mission of preservation and education serves Iowans of all ages, conducts and stimulates research, disseminates information, and encourages and supports historical preservation and education efforts of others throughout the state. Visit www.iowahistory.org or call 515-281-5111 for more information.

Did you know that you shouldn’t PAY for newspaper and magazine articles that you find on the Web?

The next time you’re asked for your credit card while doing your research online, check the UI Libraries’ resources first.

Our Resources by Type – News and Newspapers will link you to a wide range or current and historical newspapers. E-journals can link you to electronic coverage for your title.

If we don’t have the article in print or electronically, you can get it free through our Interlibrary Loan service.

Nancy E. Kraft, Head of Preservation at the UI Libraries has been selected as a 2009 recipient of the Presidents’ Award presented by the Midwest Archives Conference.

Nancy has advocated for the preservation and proper management of Iowa’s cultural treasures throughout her career.  She is a leader in the Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium and has been personally involved in the development of a successful statewide preservation training program through the Consortium.  Those efforts alone would make her eligible for the Presidents’ Award but she is nominated for her extraordinary work following the historic levels of flooding that struck Iowa in the summer of 2008.

Last June when all UI employees were officially asked not to report to work, Nancy assisted repositories and archives in her hometown of Cedar Rapids. She worked late into the night during that time, even though she was under no obligation to do so. She continued performing this service for other repositories at various times on nights and weekends for the balance of the summer and into early fall.

“I simply could not have survived the flood without Nancy’s assistance,” said Susan Kuecker, curator of the African American Historical Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa. “Even though Nancy was off of work the week of June 16, she and I were constantly in touch.  I had an e-mail from her on Sunday evening, June 15, offering assistance.  I called her at 7 a.m. on June 16 and arranged to have a meeting with her and our director at 8 a.m.”

The Presidents’ award, established in 1986, recognizes significant contributions to the archival profession by individuals, institutions and organizations not directly involved in archival work but knowledgeable about its purpose and value. Recipients are chosen by a committee comprising the three most recent past presidents of MAC from nominations submitted by committees in each of the 13 states in the MAC region.

“Nancy’s tireless efforts following last June’s devastating floods alone merit this recognition,” said David McCartney, University Archivist and one of the nominators. “In addition, her lifelong commitment to assisting our profession is deeply appreciated. We thank her for all she has done for us in preserving and strengthening our collections.”

You asked for an easier method of getting access to library materials, and we were listening. Beginning for the spring semester, the UI Libraries is partnering with Central Mail Services to deliver books to your UI campus office, including Oakdale Campus and the UIHC.

Once you find a book you would like to check out, a request for delivery can be made in InfoHawk by logging in with your HawkID and password.  You will have the option to request a book to be delivered to another library or to your office on campus.  Materials will be available within five working days (excluding weekends and holidays) and an email notification will be sent when the book leaves the owning library. 

There are a few exceptions to this new service. Materials from the Curriculum Resources Laboratory in the College of Education, State Historical Society of Iowa, Law Library in the College of Law are excluded. Reserve items, media material, and materials that circulate for short time periods (7 days or less) are also excluded from this service.  However, Law Library materials and media materials from the Main Library Media Services can still be requested through the library to library delivery service.

Main Library is scheduled to be open 24 hours this evening.

• Reference/Information Desk will be open until 6 pm
• South Circulation Desk and Access Services will be open until 9 pm
• North Circulation Desk will be open all night
• Food for Thought Cafe will be open until 12 am (Midnight)
• Second Floor ITC (computer lab) will be open all night

In the event that the University (and the Main Library building) loses power, our emergency procedures are to evacuate the building and close.

Hardin Library for the Health Sciences on Newton Road is scheduled to be open until 12 am (Midnight) and a 24-hour study space  is available.

Pomerantz Business Library in the Pappajohn Building will be open until 12 am (Midnight).

Biological Sciences Library on Iowa Avenue will be open until 8 pm.

Lichtenberger Engineering Library in the Seamans Center will be open until 8 pm.

Mathematical Sciences Library in MacLean Hall will be open until 8 pm.

Geoscience Library in Trowbridge Hall will be open until 8 pm.

Physics Library in Van Allen Hall will be open until 7 pm.

Psychology Library in Seashore Hall will close at 5 p.m.

Art Library and the Rita Benton Music Library remain closed.

Depending on weather delays some libraries may open late tomorrow morning. Please call ahead.

Winter Interim Notice:  delivery requests will continue as usual except for the week of December 22 when requests received after midnight of the 22nd will be processed on December 29.

The art library staff office will be closed on December 24-28.

For more information about how to request Art Library materials while the library is closed, check the library website.

The Rita Benton Music Library (RBML) will be moving to the Main Library over the Winter Break. To accommodate the move, RBML staff and services to the public will be suspended from Saturday, December 20, 2008 through Thursday, January 15, 2009 .

Once settled, our reference and print collections will be housed on the second floor (southwest corner) of the Main Library.  Staff, music course reserves, and all other materials will be housed on the 5th floor in the study lounge at the south end of the building.

Please use Interlibrary Loan or in the case of urgent needs, contact us at lib-mus@uiowa.edu or ruthann-mctyre@uiowa.edu

Thank you for your patience.  We look forward to returning to normal operations in our temporary home in the new year.  Please feel free to contact Ruthann McTyre, music librarian, with your questions.

Due to popular demand, the Main Library will be open 24 hours starting Sunday, December 14  at 11 a.m. through Friday, December 19 at 10 p.m.

Computers in the ITC on the second floor will be available all night.

Research assistance will be available at the first floor information desk until MIDNIGHT.

Nite Ride has also extended hours over finals week, so if you need a ride home just give them a call (319-384-1111).

Beginning Monday, the chemistry materials which are currently housed on the second floor of the Main Library will move to the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences. The move should be completed within two days and will likely affect the use of some elevators in these two buildings and may pose some temporary inconvenience.

The Music Library collection will move to the Main Library at the beginning of January, over the winter break. This move will likely take two weeks to complete. The books will be going to the second floor in the Main Library, where the chemistry materials have been located.  The rest of the collection (recordings, etc) will be moved to the 5th floor study lounge. The music library staff will also move to the 5th floor with that collection. Again, this will likely pose some inconvenience during those couple of weeks. 

We expect to complete both moves by the beginning of the spring semester and specifically scheduled them during University breaks to minimize disruption to library users.

For questions about the chemistry materials, please contact Leo Clougherty, Head of the Science and Math Libraries. For questions about the music materials, please contact Ruthann McTyre, Head of the Rita Benton Music Library.

Author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier Ishmael Beah spoke about his life in Sierra Leone as a child soldier and his activism for the rights of children on Wednesday, October 29 to an estimated crowd of 1,400 people. To see this lecture again or for the first time, tune into UITV on your local channel.

If you were unable to attend, UITV has decided to air the program as soon as possible. It will be shown three times this week as follows:

• Wednesday, November 5 at 4pm
• Thursday, November 6 at 3am
• Thursday, November 6 at 5pm

How did librarians manage the natural disasters throughout Eastern Iowa?  Please join the School of Library and Information Science for this exciting and informative panel as those in the trenches relay their first-hand knowledge of disaster planning, managing volunteers, preservation efforts at area museums and libraries, and ongoing activities by public and academic libraries to rebuild and recover after the flood.

Tuesday, November 4
Main Library, Second Floor Conference Room (2032)
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Scheduled to speak

• Nancy Baker, University Librarian, University of Iowa Libraries
• Tamara Glise, Interim Director, Cedar Rapids Public Library
• Nancy Kraft, Head, Preservation, UI Libraries
• Ruthann McIntyre, Head, UI Music Library
• Rijn Templeton, Head, UI Art Library

For more information contact, Patricia Katopol, in the School of Library and Information Science.

If the election this year is anything like 2004, 70 percent of Asian American women and Latinas, and 40 percent of African American women will be missing at the polls on Election Day. Learn how to make this election different.

Engage Her! Getting Minority Women to Lead and Vote Film Screening and Discussion
Tuesday, October 28 at 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Second Floor Conference Room Main Library (2032)

Touching on the history of suffrage, and featuring interviews with politically active women from a variety of backgrounds, Engage Her! is “a groundbreaking documentary about the importance of mobilizing women voters, particularly women of color from underrepresented groups.”

Join us on October 28. Vote on (or before) November 4.

Co-sponsors: Center for Diversity & Enrichment, Council on the Status of Latinos, Iowa Biosciences Advantage, Iowa Edge, University Libraries, College of Nursing, Women in Science & Engineering, Women’s Resource & Action Center

With the increase in traffic in the Main Library this fall, the Food for Thought Library Cafe has decided to expand it’s Sunday hours. The cafe will open at 4 p.m. and close at 11 p.m.

“Since the IMU is closed this semester, we’ve seen a lot more students studying in the library,” says Kathy Magarrell, Head of Reference and Library Instruction. “When students are here studying they need food. Especially on Sunday afternoons when there are few other options nearby.”

Reference and Instruction Librarian Von Yeager was recently elected president of the UI African American Council. Von has been actively involved with the Council since coming to the University Libraries last year. His term as president will begin October 1.

Von also serves on the Hubbard Task Force for the Retention and Success of African American Men Associated with the University of Iowa.

The mission of the African American Council (AAC ) is to promote and improve the quality of life of African American faculty, staff and students at the University of Iowa. The African American Council is poised to address the changing needs and concerns of African Americans on campus.

To this end, through service and action, the AAC promotes awareness of important African American concerns and contributions to the University, while advancing the University’s commitment to diversity and academic excellence.

The first presentation of the Opera Studies Forum features a well-known Japanese author and the screening of a recently composed opera, in collaboration with the International Writing Program, the International Programs, the Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, and the Department of Asian Languages and Literature, and the Department of Cinema & Comparative Literature.

On Tuesday, September 9, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. in Room 107 EPB, Masahiko Shimada will host a screening of the 2004 opera Jr. Butterfly (a sequel to Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, that tells of the tragic romance of Butterfly’s son). Mr. Shimada will give an introduction to this opera, for which he wrote the libretto to music composed by Shigeaki Saegusa. The originalperformance was recorded at the 2006 Puccini Festival. Mr. Shimada will also be available to answer questions.

Mr. Shimada is (b. 1961) is an award-winning author, one of the most decorated writers and commentators in Japan today. In addition to writing numerous fiction publications, Shimada founded and directed a successful theater group during the 1990s and continues to work in performing arts. He currently teaches at Hosei University. In June-July of this year he presented a television lecture series on opera (eight 25-minute programs), which was broadcast by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation.

The devastating flood that hit Iowa last summer made headlines around the state, nation and world. Yet many stories could be lost if not preserved – or worse, simply remain untold.

University of Iowa Libraries – along with university and community partners  –  has invited the national StoryCorps Project to collect and preserve these stories of everyday heroism and kindness in a program titled, “Under the Current: Collecting Stories from the Flood.”

“We have a responsibility to preserve the experiences of every day people who were touched in profound ways by this historic flood,” said Nancy L. Baker, University Librarian. “This project is a perfect way to say ‘Thank you’ to everyone, whether they volunteered to help save books or photos, sand-bagged, helped a neighbor or simply persevered through surviving the flood. Even more important, however, it that this project preserves people’s stories so that future generations will know first-hand what happened during this significant time.”

Those who would like to share their flood stories or who would like to nominate a pair to interview one another – can call 319-335-5069 or visit: www.lib.uiowa.edu/events/floodstories. The deadline to sign up is Sunday, Sept. 21.

StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit project whose mission is to honor and celebrate one another’s lives through listening. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to take home and share, and is also preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Over 40,000 people have recorded their stories with StoryCorps and millions listen to the broadcasts on public radio and on the Web. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind. 

The local project will include opportunities for 36 pairs of people from the local community – or a total of 72 people – to be interviewed to share their experiences either during or after the flood.

Interviews will be conducted Tuesday, Sept. 30 through Saturday, Oct. 11 with both the StoryCorps staff and local UI student facilitators who are enrolled in Applied Anthropology with Nanette Barkey, assistant anthropology professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Interviews will be held at University of Iowa Main Library as well as at the Iowa City and Coralville Public Libraries.

Interviews are conducted in the following format: two people who know one another and have a shared experience or memories related to the flood, will interview each other for 40 minutes, with a facilitator on-hand to help if needed. These interviews will be archived at the UI Libraries. Interviews conducted with StoryCorps staff will also be archived in the Library of Congress.

Nicole Saylor, Head of Digital Library Services at the University of Iowa, said that the most compelling stories come from two people who have a close connection to one another.

“All you need is a good story and someone to help you tell it,” Saylor said. “The best stories come from conversations between family members, friends or co-workers.”

David McCartney, University Archivist said that many participants in StoryCorps interviews describe the experience as a powerful catharsis as well.

 “Whether it’s a mother and son, two neighbors, a professor and a student or good friends, the most powerful stories come from two people who know one another well,” McCartney said. “Many participants describe this as a way to re-live an experience that may have been happy and exciting or harrowing and painful – but either way, they are incredibly important experiences to preserve for future generations.”

For more information on StoryCorps, visit: http://www.storycorps.net/.

Yoshiko Kajimoto will describe her experience as a Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor at a presentation 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10 at the Iowa City Public Library, Meeting Room A.

On Aug. 6, 1945, Kajimoto was a student directed to work in an airplane parts factory 2.3 kilometers from the epicenter of where the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Kajimoto is speaking across the Midwest as part of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation’s goal to warn about the future destructive use of nuclear weapons.

Foundation Chairman Steven Lloyd Leeper will speak about the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the call for disarmament. He is a well-known peace activist and the first American to head the foundation. A reception will follow the talk.

“As a Japanese studies librarian in Iowa, I find that there is much about Japanese history and culture that I would like to share with my friends and colleagues here,” says the UI Libraries’ Chiaki Sakai, who helped arrange the presentation. “When I learned about the opportunity from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum to have an atomic bomb survivor visit campus, I thought it could be a way for people learn from her dramatic experiences.”

This talk is sponsored by and in cooperation with the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. UI sponsors include: the UI Libraries, Center for Asian and Pacific Studies, International Writing Program, the Bose Lecture Series of the Department of Political Science, Department of History, the UI Center for Human Rights and International Programs. Individual sponsors include Yozo Iwashita, Sakuragaoka Junior High School, Teiji Okada, the Hiroshima Alliance for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (HANWA), Mariko Mizugaki, Shinichi Kishi, the Hiroshima Peace Action Center, the Hiroshima Council against A- and H-bombs, Iwane Fujii, Takashi Yamaguchi and Yumi Ozaki.

The University of Iowa Libraries has a half-time Graphic & Web Designer position vacancy. The application deadline is September 9, 2008. Please follow the links to see a complete position description, including application instructions, for the Graphic & Web Designer position.

Creative, skilled, highly technical position designing web and print projects for the University of Iowa Libraries. Work as a member of a communications team that connects students, faculty/staff and general public to UI Libraries resources and services. Responsibilities: designs and implements innovative approaches to web communication for the UI Libraries’ website… (for the complete description).