University Libraries

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Several items from the University of Iowa Libraries Special Collections are now a part of the exhibit “Marking Territory, Cartographic Treasures of the Mississippi River and the World Beyond,” March 2- June 16, 2013 at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport. http://www.figgeartmuseum.org/

Curator Rima Girnius from the Figge, worked with Mary McInroy and Greg Prickman to select 17 maps, 3 books and 1 copperplate for this exhibit which explores “how maps communicate highly complex ideas about identity, politics, and culture.” After selecting the objects for the show, the items were documented and prepared for exhibit by the Conservation Staff. Giselle Simón, Bill Voss, and Kat Tandy of Conservation, with the help of graduate student Pamela Olson, completed repairs, fabricated mounts, and framed the maps for delivery and installation at the Figge on February 28, 2013.

–submitted by Giselle Simón

This is the first of a long string of announcements of new acquisitions that we will be announcing, so follow our blog to hear all the latest!

Tiny is the only word to describe this 58mm volume La divina commedia di Dante.  This is the second smallest edition of Dante ever printed and is notable for using the smallest movable type ever cast.  It was printed in Milan in 1878 by Ulrico Hoepli.

If you want to test your eyesight, stop by to give this one a try.

 

 

Ellen Lauri Ochoa is a former astronaut and current Director of the Johnson Space Center. Ochoa became director of the center upon retirement of the current director, Michael Coats, on December 31, 2012.  She was born May 10th, 1958 in Los Angeles and educated at Stanford University.  For more in depth information check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Ochoa.

Engineering Library resources on flight: http://ow.ly/kTQ6I 

 

 

Final Week Hours. Open till Midnight! starting Sun, 2:00 pm-Midnight. Mon, May 13- Thurs, May 16 8:30- Midnight. Fri, May 17: 8:30 am-5 pm….Closed May 18th & 19th.

Free Coffee and Hot Chocolate. Mon, May 13-Thurs, May 16th- 8:30 am- Midnight. Fri, May 17: 8:30-5 pm.  Until supplies last

Summer Break Hours:  May 20-June 10, 2013–Mon-Fri 8:30-noon. 1:00-5:00.  Saturday and Sunday Closed.  Regular hours resume June 11.

Social Work Reference Center includes care sheets, patient information, and images usable in all clinical settings – including hospitals, elder-care centers, and mental healthcare facilities. All evidence is rigorously evaluated and topics are updated as evidence changes.

Please send additional comments to Dan Gall.

 

Name:  Jim Kelly

Hometown: Des Moines, IA

Undergraduate Education.:  B.A. in Government and International Relations, University of Notre Dame

Graduate Education:  M.A. in Library and Information Science, University of Iowa

Future Plans:  I hope to work in public service/reference in library or information services in either an academic library or special library (public or private sector).

Why I’m working at Hardin:  I came to Hardin to get experience in health sciences librarianship.  I had worked in several other library environments and wanted to try something different, a new challenge.

Favorite Part of Working at Hardin:  I enjoy working with the students, faculty, and staff who rely on Hardin’s resources and services.  They’re a smart, engaged group of people and I enjoy helping them find the materials or information they need.

I’m Currently Reading:  The Man Who Invented the Computer: The Biography of John Atanasoff, Digital Pioneer by Jane Smiley

 

Does coffee make studying easier for you?  We can help you with that!

Hardin Library will begin serving free coffee beginning Friday, May 10th at 6pm.  Finals week coffee is sponsored by Linda Walton, Associate University Librarian for the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences & Branch Libraries.

Do you hate not being able to find a place to study?  You will be able to find one at our library! 

• 15 quiet study rooms
• 8 group study rooms
• 253 seats at tables
• 72 computers
• 7 couches
• 112 study carrels
• 15 lounge chairs
• 24 hour study area

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

The University of Iowa’s Special Collections was fortunate to receive Chef Louis Szathmary’s library of cookbooks throughout the mid-80’s.  Among the items were a number of handwritten cookbooks that Szathmary had collected over the years. In the Spring of 2012 conservation and digital preservation students began scanning the manuscripts. The first item, Josiah Ingall’s account book, went digital on March 13^th, 2012. The goal was to crowd source the transcription of the pages and create legible, accessible, versions of the cookbooks, some of them dating from as far back as the 1600’s.

A little over a year later, the project reached the 100 mark with the digitization of the ‘Household recipe book of Mrs. Howard of Staines, Middlesex and Salsfield Court, Nr. Westerham, England’.  This number represents hours of work in addition to 12,674 images totaling 249,361,919,444 bytes!  Each item is assessed before scanning, treated if necessary, scanned, processed, and rehoused in a 4-fold-flap.  The DIY transcription project is also moving along at a good pace with 33,222 pages transcribed to date.

If you’re interested in browsing the digital collection go to: http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/cookbooks

Or, if you’d prefer to try your hand (or eyes) at manuscript transcription, visit the DIY transcription site at: http://diyhistory.lib.uiowa.edu/

Lastly, if you’re feeling super adventurous, try out some of the recipes yourself, also found at the DIY site. There’s everything from dandelion wine to cures for the plague (which hopefully you don’t have).

-Jessica Rogers