University Libraries

Celebrate women’s history month with refreshments and conversation! Come join us for “Light and Letters: An Iowa Woman’s Experience of Tuberculosis,” a talk by Jennifer Burek Pierce, PhD, on Wednesday, March 25 at 4:00pm.

Prof. Burek Pierce will discuss the importance of reading and letters from home for Marjorie McVicker Sutcliffe during her treatments in a tuberculosis sanatorium, drawing on materials in the Judith Sutcliffe papers here at the Iowa Women’s Archives. An Associate Professor in the School of Library and Information Science, Burek Pierce writes about publishing trends and their implications for libraries, past and present. Her research considers what happens when ideas once shared face-to-face are committed to print. Her books include What Adolescents Ought to Know: Sexual Health Texts in Early 20th Century America (UMass Press, 2011) and Sex, Brains, and Video Games: A Librarian’s Guide to Teens in the 21st Century (ALA Editions, 2009). 

Charleston, S.C. Monday morning, March 13th 1865
My Dear Wife

I went to the Post Office this morning with bright hopes of hearing from you but was doomed to disappointment. I can only wait patiently hoping that I may be more successful next mail if I should be in the city so long.

We have had no opportunity to get farther north as yet, & we are seriously debating the policy of returning to Hilton Head to try our chances there.¹ This place is growing so dull to us that we must do something desperate soon. If the army was lying idle, it would not be so unbearable; but with our commands in motion, while we can contribute nothing, is more than we can patiently endure.²

My health is very good and the weather in this vicinity is beautiful, such as we enjoy in the north in late May & early June.

I had the pleasure of attending two Sabbath Schools yesterday. In the morning at 10 o’clock at Bethel Church (white).³ The attendance was not very large but those present seemed much interested. I spoke about ten minutes. At 11-1/2 o’clock I went to Zion’s Church S.S. (white & black);⁴ there were about 130 or 140 children present. I talked to them 10 or 15 minutes; they seemed very much interested. In the afternoon Rev. James Beecher, Bro. of Henry Ward Beecher of N.Y. & Colonel of the 35th U.S.C.T. preached in Zion’s Church.⁵ There were about 12 or 1500 present. It is a Methodist church & has 1200 members. After the Sermon, the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was administered. I preached in the evening at 7-1/2 from Romans, 3rd Chap, 23rd verse; there were some 800 or 1,000 present. The building is a very large one and seats 1500 easily. It was a happy day; God was with us.

The Steamer “Arago” arrived at Hilton Head on Friday,⁶ & we recd. northern news this morning to the 5th inst. There is no important war news, except a probability that Sherman may open communication with the coast at or near Wilmington, N.C.⁷

Everything is quiet in and around Charleston, and remaining indoors you would not realize the existence of war. We are to be honored with the company of a Lady in our house. She stepped into our parlor just now, & we became so excited that we came near upsetting all the chairs in the room. Her name [is], I think, Mrs. Moss, & [she] is from New York. Her husband is principal of some of the public schools, &, as they could find no place so convenient as this, we gave one of our front rooms up stairs.

I learned from Mrs. Beecher in a conversation on Saturday evening that she plays the Piano, so we hope to have some good music. Dr. Bennett removed over the river last week, & I have not exercised much on the Piano since he left.

The weather is very beautiful to-day, & our garden, which is in full view of my Desk, would astonish you. We have Peas, Beans, onions, watermelons & radishes all up & looking finely. The birds sing very sweetly among the trees in the garden, & everything out-doors looks happy. We have not been able to get a Northern paper yet, but may succeed throughout the day.

How much pleasanter it would have been if I had remained at home until now. I think the prospects are brightening for the termination of the war. Then “Home Sweet Home.” Remember me kindly to all our friends, Kiss Howard for me. It would be a great comfort to know just now that you are both well. May Our Father bless you. I feel so Blue to-day that I cannot write.

Good Bye,
Your affect. Husband
J. F. Culver

1. This statement suggests that J.F.C. had disembarked from Constitution at Hilton Head, S.C., and had boarded another ship which brought him to Charleston.
2. In the period March 7-13, the 129th Illinois, along with other units of the XX Corps, had continued its advance into North Carolina. The Lumber River was crossed on the 10th, and the next day the troops, after a 25-mile march, reached Fayetteville, on the Cape Fear River. Grunert, History of the 129th Illinois, pp. 207-11.
3. Bethel Church was on Pitt Street at the southwest corner of Calhoun. Sholes’ Directory of the City of Charleston, 1883 (Charleston, 1883), pp. 37-8.
4. Zion Presbyterian Church was on the south side of Calhoun, east of Meeting Street, Ibid., p. 39.
5. James C. Beecher of Hartford, Conn., was mustered into service on April 28, 1863, at Boston, as lieutenant colonel of the 35th U.S. Colored Troops, and was promoted to colonel on June 9, 1863. Colonel Beecher was wounded at Honey Hill, S.C., on Nov. 30, 1864. In March 1865 his regiment was stationed at Mt. Pleasant, S.C.; and in April in Charleston, at the Citadel. Compiled Service Records of Union Soldiers, NA.
6. Arago was a 2,240-ton propeller-driven steamer, built 10 years before in New York City. Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States, 1807-1868, p. 11.
7. On March 12 a steamboat ascended the Cape Fear River from Wilmington, N.C., and for the first time since the last day of January, Sherman’s army was again in communication with Union forces operating along the coast. Grunert, History of the 129th Illinois, p. 211.

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, and the world’s richest man, is known for changing how the world operates and functions. The mission of his non-profit, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is to give all people the chance to live a healthy and productive life. To this end, during the mid-1990s, Bill Gates gave computers to libraries and schools, which made sense for the world’s largest software owner. But how did Bill Gates becomes interested in poop? Yes…human excrement. His philanthropic organization granted money to Janicki Bioenergy to build the OmniProcessor, a machine which transforms fecal sludge and solid waste into water and electricity. In places without treatment plants or clean water, the technology could be a low-cost solution to quench the world’s thirst.

 

Bill Gates explains the process in this video.

So how does waste water taste? Watch Jimmy Fallon take a sip.

References

American Chemical Society. “Converting Sewage Into Drinking Water: Wave Of The Future?” ScienceDaily, 30 January 2008. Source: TechStreet

American Water Works Association. Security Practices for Operation and Management. AWWA G430-14 November 1, 2014

Bill Gates’ latest passion: a machine that turns poop into water by Todd Wasserman. Mashable, January 6, 2015

Bill Gates 2.0 by 60 Minutes. CBS News, May 14, 2013

Career Opportunities at Janicki Bioenergy

U.S. Enviornmental Protection Agency. Current Drinking Water Regulations

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Drinking Water Contaminants

Compendex: Everything Engineering!

Compendex is the most comprehensive bibliographic database of scientific and technical engineering research available, covering all engineering disciplines. It includes millions of bibliographic citations and abstracts from thousands of engineering journals and conference proceedings. When combined with the Engineering Index Backfile (1884 – 1969), Compendex covers 120 years of core engineering literature.

Today, 2:30 p.m., 2001C Seamans Center Library Computer Classroom, 30 minute class.

Taught by Kari Kozak, Head, Lichtenberger Engineering Library.

Apple Pi Day 3.14159265359 bites are coming to the Sciences Library on Fri March 13, 8:30 until they are gone. We will also be providing coffee and tea. So come and join us and see what Pi Bites are all about.

Are you seeking opportunities for your students to become confident, eloquent, and engaging public speakers? I’d like to invite you to use the Learning Commons for your class presentations! The Learning Commons has six reservable group areas, each equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including 80-inch monitors. Laptops, cables & slide advancers are available for check out at the nearby Library service desk. Your students can even reserve a group area or room ahead of time to practice their presentations. The Learning Commons is an active, collaborative space that will give your students real-world experience presenting in a more formal and public place. If you are interested to learn more or to reserve a space today contact me at Brittney-Thomas@uiowa.edu. I’d be more than happy to help you find the perfect space and make sure your students have everything they need to knock it out of the park!