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.

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.

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.

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%).