University Libraries

Finals week is upon us and can be very intimidating. We are here for our students with extended hours, hot beverages, and fun surprises! We are open for late-night study sessions with space for individual and group study. 

Mon, Dec. 16–Thu, Dec. 19 | 8:30 a.m.–midnight 

Fri, Dec. 20 | 8:30 a.m.–6 p.m. 

Starting Monday, we will serve FREE coffee, tea, and hot chocolate to fuel your studying. 

This year we have brewed up some extra fun with our Finals Fun Vending Machine! Stop by the service desk to pick up free custom tokens and give the machine a spin. Each spin gives you a capsule that contains candy or a toy, along with words of encouragement, a cheesy joke, or a fun factoid. 

Registration is now open for design teams to enter the 2025 Engineering Open mini golf design challenge. Teams will compete to design the best mini golf fairway, focusing on fun theming and creative building. Visit the event homepage for full rules and judging criteria. The event will take place on Thursday, Feb. 27 from 1 – 3 p.m. in the Seamans Center Student Commons. The fairways will also be used at the 2025 On Iowa event. 

Six fairways are reserved for each of the six departments: Biomedical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. Sign-up to be on a team at: https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/eng/events/engineeringopen/  

Six additional fairways are available for clubs and groups that are university–recognized and affiliated with the College of Engineering. If you are affiliated with a club or team and would like to build a fairway, please email lib-engineering@uiowa.edu with your club name and team members. Space for teams is limited and offered on a first come, first served basis. 

Engineering Open is sponsored by KEEN, the Lichtenberger Engineering Library, College of Engineering | Engineering Technology Center, and NEXUS. 

Have you ever wondered what happens to a patent after an inventor submits all that paperwork? Get a behind the scenes look with our upcoming presentation: The role of a USPTO patent examiner on Oct. 9, 2024, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.  

A patent examiner plays a crucial role in the intellectual property system by evaluating patent applications to determine whether they meet the legal requirements for patentability. They are the ones who ensure that the inventions described in the applications are new, useful, and non-obvious. 

Patent examiners also communicate with applicants or their lawyers. Examiners identify issues with an application and may request clarification or let the applicant know that the invention is not patentable. Applicants may respond with amendments or arguments to address these issues. This back-and-forth process continues until the application is either approved or finally rejected. 

Patent examiners come from many backgrounds. For example, Primary Patent Examiner Dung Ulsh, who will be presenting our workshop, is an expert in drugdelivery medical devices. In addition to their technical expertise, patent examiners must have a strong understanding of patent laws and regulations. 

After Ms. Ulsh’s presentation, there will be a Q&A session where Derris Banks, the regional director of the Elijah J. McCoy Midwest Regional Outreach Office, will answer questions about the patent application process. 

Need to brush up on your patent basics? Visit our patents guide for a great overview! 

The workshop is free but registration is required. Click here to save your spot today!

During the week of Sept. 16, we hosted a through-hole soldering workshop where participants got hands-on experience with the wide world of electronics. If your schedule is too full to make it to one of our workshops, you can still learn how to solder, just by using your Iowa One Card! 

As a guidebook check out The Basics of Soldering by Armin Rahn. As the title suggests, this book provides a great baseline of technique and application for those completely new to soldering.  

If you’re eager to jump in with more complicated projects, try a selection from our Making and Innovation Collection, found on the main floor of the Engineering Library. Try Make: Electronics by Charles Platt or Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred: seriously geeky stuff to make with your kids by Erik Nelson.  

Soldering irons are also available for checkout through our Tool Library! You can check them out for one week at a time for free using your Iowa One Card. 

We still have a few spots available for our upcoming LED Pendant Soldering workshop on September 25th. The workshop is free but registration is required. Click here to register today! 

Learn a new skill, enhance your research, or get creative with your friends with these new workshops from the Engineering Library! 

Maker Breaks 

Take a break and get creative with seasonal crafts each month. No registration is required for these workshops—just drop by! 

All Maker Breaks take place from 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. in the Engineering Student Commons. 

Thursday, Sept. 19: Origami ahoy! Celebrating Talk Like a Pirate Day 

Thursday, Oct. 24: Hawkeye nightlight 

Wednesday, Nov. 19: DIY handwarmers 

Tuesday, Dec. 10: Cookies and coasters 

Soldering 

Soldering is one of the most fundamental skills needed to explore the world of electronics. With this simple skill, you will gain a better understanding of electronics and be better equipped to create your own. Taught by Kara Beauchamp, Instructional Services Lab Manager. 

Soldering workshops are sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the Lichtenberger Engineering Library. 

 

Wednesday, Sept.18: Through-hole soldering 

Wednesday, Sept. 25: LED pendants 

Lunch and Learn 

Enrich your research skills and enjoy a free lunch with our new Lunch and Learn series! These workshops are designed for graduate students and faculty, but they are also open to undergraduates. 

Lunch and Learns include free pizza and are held from noon to 1 p.m. in person  in the Engineering Library Creative Space (2001C SC) and online. 

Wednesday, Sept. 11: Find the good stuff fast: Intro to the Engineering Library 

Wednesday, Oct. 2: Introduction to Endnote Desktop 

Tuesday, Oct. 22: From journals to open access: A guide to scholarly publishing 

Wednesday, Nov. 13: Navigating comprehensive literature reviews 

Lots of things are happening in the Engineering Library! Every year, we create an infographic to demonstrate just how much happens here. Here are some highlights: 

• We welcomed over 106,000 visitors to the library (a 27% increase from last year!) 

• On average, the group study rooms were used 78% of the time during our open hours. 

• We hosted 17 workshops with 1,085 attendees and taught 26 instructional sessions with 1,575 audience members. 

• Our tool library was heavily used, with items borrowed 4,150 times during the year. 

Learn more by taking a closer look at the infographic below. 

Each semester we like to highlight our student workers who are graduating. This semester, our cohort of graduating student workers is four students strong.

CJ Brauns

Hometown: Coralville, Iowa 

Degree: Master of Arts in Library and Information Science 

Post-graduation plans: I’m currently applying for full-time library jobs. For now, I will continue to work at the Lichtenberger Engineering Library and the North Liberty Aquatic Center. 

 What’s one thing you learned from working at the Engineering Library? Academic libraries can be even louder than public libraries. 

Kendra Walton

Hometown: Deforest, Wisconsin 

Degree: Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering 

Post-graduation plans: Still looking for a job. 

What’s one thing you learned from working at the Engineering Library? I learned a lot about different tools and technology! 

Lucas Pieper

Hometown: Ankeny, Iowa 

Degree: Bachelor of Arts in Finance with a minor in Sports and Recreation Management and Public Health Certificate 

Post-graduation plans: I have accepted a job with a commercial real estate brokerage company (Advocate Commercial Real Estate Advisors) as a client relationship associate in downtown Chicago, Illinois.   

What’s one thing you learned from working at the Engineering Library? One thing I learned while working at the Engineering Library is creative, on-the-spot problem solving. While not being an engineering major myself, I was constantly working to assist engineering majors. There were often times when they had a complex STEM-related issue that I did not know much about, but since I was working in the Engineering Library, I was able to help come up with fast and creative solutions to help solve those students’ problems. 

Wes Johnson

Hometown: Cedar Rapids, Iowa 

Degree: Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering 

Post-graduation plans: Work at Crystal Group in Hiawatha, Iowa as an industrial engineer 

What’s one thing you learned from working at the Engineering Library? Over my time working in the library I learned how to navigate tough requests and questions, searching for a solution even when it wasn’t right in front of me. If I was really stuck, it was always a good bet to ask James [Cox]!