University Libraries

The Digital Library of Classic Protestant Texts is a uniquely exhaustive resource for historians, theologians, political scientists, and sociologists studying the religious and social upheavals of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Please send additional comments to Rachel Carreon.

The Digital Library of Classic Protestant Texts is a uniquely exhaustive resource for historians, theologians, political scientists, and sociologists studying the religious and social upheavals of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Please send additional comments to Rachel Carreon.

The Digital Library of the Catholic Reformation is a uniquely valuable resource for historians, theologians, political scientists, and sociologists studying the religious and social upheavals of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Please send additional comments to Rachel Carreon.

Twentieth Century Religious Thought is a multivolume, cross-searchable online collection that brings together the seminal works and archival materials related to key worldwide religious thinkers, from the early 1900s until the turn of the 21st century.

Please send additional comments to Rachel Carreon.

We’ve been in touch with one of our most faithful DIY History transcribers, Roger. He didn’t intend to get so drawn into the project when he first visited our site, but now he admits that “things like eating and mowing get in the way but I’ve managed to blow off most other things cause I’m addicted to this.” Besides transcribing the manuscript pages, at which he has become expert, he likes to monitor the “Recent changes” log, which records all the work done by various contributors, and is accessible to anyone who creates a DIY History account. Like other frequent transcribers, he has an eerie sense of entering the private thoughts of writers long ago: “I keep thinking we’re almost invading something private these people from 200 years ago never expected anyone, but maybe a daughter or grand daughter would ever see their writings. It’s a great look into the “olden” times.” Roger has spent a lot of time transcribing recipes in the Szathmary Culinary Manuscripts and Cookbook collection, and has come across some really harrowing dishes, which make full use of body parts. He knows someone who worked at a meat locker for years, and even she “has no interest at all in the tongue, feet, head or any other questionable parts of meat, like udder. She hated to handle a tongue, no way is she going to eat it.” Ah, how times and palates change. Roger has found a way to multi-task his hobbies: “I use my 46 ” flat screen as my monitor so I can kick back in the lazy boy and start typing and deciphering. I finally decided Sunday I wasn’t able to watch TV and type at the same time and a Nascar race was on. So I did a bit of rearranging so I could watch on the older 27 ” TV while online and if something interesting came up I could jump back on the flat screen to see wrecks or whatever.”

Another of our best transcribers is British; his hobbies include deciphering Minoan Linear A and Mycenaean Linear B, gardening, and fine cooking. He has dedicated himself to transcribing and proofreading the Civil War Diaries and Letters, and sometimes reports to us his discoveries about old American slang and expressions, such as “wooden nutmegs and flannel sausages.”

We love to hear the transcribers’ stories, as they help us share the stories of these old manuscripts.

English cookbook, 1700 | Szathmary Culinary Manuscripts and Cookbooks

Developed by librarians for librarians, Library & Information Science Source will appeal to those interested in librarianship, classification, cataloging, bibliometrics, online information retrieval, information management and many other library and information science related areas. Specific coverage includes subjects such as automation, care and restoration of books, circulation procedures, government aid, internet software, library equipment and supplies and rare books.

Please send additional comments to Karen Fischer.

April is National Poetry Month.  Poems on many subjects have been posted throughout the library for you to enjoy.  This year the poems were selected by Hardin Library student employees.

E.S.P. fluxkits, by James Riddle

James Riddle, creator of the E.S.P. fluxkit, is represented in the collection by 4 E.S.P. fluxkits.
1) clear box; colored cards visible
2) clear box; colored cards visible
3) white box; contents not visible
4) box with white top, black bottom; contents not visible

Not physically identical, but conceptually, yes, the idea goes across the board. The directions (when available) state that one is to run one’s fingers lightly over the cards while blindfolded in an effort to distinguish the colors from one another. In attempting to give a digital sense of the physical collection here at the University of Iowa, Which Riddle gets scanned? I ask the boxes: who wants to go? I wait for them to speak. Nope. Nothing. This moment is E.S.P. free. I pay more mind to the containers for each box, which has the most identifying ephemera? Which has been most attentively labeled and wrapped?
Somewhere I read that they should contain 10 cards. Well, that’s not quite the reality. Two boxes contain 6 cards and instructions, one contains 9 cards, the last contains 13 cards PLUS instructions. And there we have it. I won’t presume to redistribute the cards evenly but I will give the best representation of the color spectrum Riddle wanted to pose in the E.S.P. fluxkits. Or was it the color spectrum he was really getting at?

Again we are posed with more questions than answers, but the collection only becomes more intriguing.

a portion of E.S.P. fluxkit, by James Riddle c. 1966

http://www.earthday.org/blog/2013/04/22/its-earth-day

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/earth-day-2013-to-celebrate-google-doodle-puts-the-power-of-nature-at-your-fingertips/2013/04/22/3259c822-ab40-11e2-b6fd-ba6f5f26d70e_blog.html

http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2262944/Earth-Day-2013-Google-Doodle-Control-the-Weather-in-Interactive-Logo

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=BUOQ_yPW_0s