Sciences – Library News

Dec 10 2018

UI Libraries and student government collaborate to reduce textbook costs

Posted on December 10, 2018December 31, 2018 by The University of Iowa Libraries

How will I afford my textbooks this semester? Can I pass this course even though I don’t have the book? Is it illegal to download this PDF of the book that I found online?

These are the kinds of questions students ask at the beginning of the semester. The solutions they find are creative. Sometimes a whole group of roommates will share a book. In other cases, they will find a dubious copy for free online. Other times, they skip textbooks entirely. For some students, it’s a matter of buying food or buying books.

UI Libraries and UI Student Government are easing some of this burden with a collaborative project called the Textbook Affordability Pilot (TAP). Under TAP, a committee of library staff and student government representatives collect donated textbooks and purchase new ones for “high impact courses.” These are classes for which the cost of books is high and more than 100 students are enrolled in the course. These books are placed on course reserves in Main Library and the branch libraries for students to use free of charge.

Plans for TAP began in the summer of 2017, when student government approached the Libraries with questions about making textbooks more affordable. The UI Libraries encourages faculty to bypass traditional textbooks where possible by using books from the Libraries’ collection and using open educational resources. The Libraries also keeps copies of some textbooks on course reserve. Despite these efforts, librarians and students realized more could be done.

UISG Director of Academic Affairs, Tristan Schmidt, and Scholarly Communications Librarian, Mahrya Burnett, along with interested colleagues, began to explore the idea of purchasing textbooks and collecting donated copies. There was broad interest on both ends. Eventually, UISG and UI Libraries both allocated funds, totaling $17,000 for the one-year pilot. The committee drafted a set of criteria for books to be included in TAP and identified objectives for success. Then they started buying and collecting books.

As TAP began accepting donations last spring, the response from students was overwhelming. They donated hundreds of books, filling the UISG offices at the IMU. The committee is now working with faculty, students, and librarians to finalize its purchase list in order to get new books processed and on the shelves. TAP aims to have 100 books available for student use through course reserves at the Main Library and several other campus libraries by spring semester 2019. Their hope is to see the program grow over time so that more and more books are available for the students who need them.

For complete information about TAP, visit http://guides.lib.uiowa.edu/TAP

TAP information for students
Can I access my textbooks for free? One easy way to find out whether your textbook is on Course Reserves is to use this simple search tool. Search by course name, instructor, or book title.

TAP information for faculty, instructors, and TAs
Do the textbooks for my course qualify for TAP? Faculty can email LIB-TAP@uiowa.edu to see if their textbooks are TAP eligible.

Oct 07 2015

SEEKING NOMINATIONS: Arthur Benton University Librarian’s Award for Excellence

Posted on October 7, 2015December 2, 2016 by The University of Iowa Libraries

The University Libraries is seeking nominations for the Arthur Benton University Librarian’s Award for Excellence. Funded by a generous endowment, this prestigious award acknowledges a library staff member’s professional contributions in the practice of librarianship, service to the profession, scholarship, or leadership which has had a significant impact or innovation to the operations of the Libraries or the University of Iowa. The library staff member will receive $1,500 to be used for professional development activities.

Criteria for the award and the nomination form are available at: http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/admin/bentonaward/

Nominations are due by Friday, October 16.

Many graduate students and faculty work closely with our librarians to locate and procure curriculum and research resources. The Benton Award is a great opportunity to recognize that collaborative relationship.

*The University Libraries includes the Main Library, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, and the Art, Sciences, Business, Engineering, and Music libraries. (Professional staff in the Law Library and other campus departmental library staff are not eligible.)

Sep 18 2014

Collect all seven prize buttons during our Library Crawl!

Posted on September 18, 2014December 2, 2016 by The University of Iowa Libraries

The University Libraries’ will be holding a Library Crawl from September 22nd through October 6th.

Visit any library locations on campus during the crawl to receive a collectable prize button and participate in a library challenge. Buttons are available at these locations: Art Library, Pomerantz Business Library, Lichtenberger Engineering Library, Music Library, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, Main Library & Learning Commons, and the Sciences Library. Collect all seven and prove yourself a bibliomaniac!

Map to campus library locations.

Mar 07 2013

Celebrating Pi Day with…

Posted on March 7, 2013December 2, 2016 by The University of Iowa Libraries

Pie, of course. Before you head out for Spring Break, stop by the UI Libraries on Thursday, March 14 for the celebration. Grab an apple tartlet at:

Art Library	9:15am & 1:45pm
Hardin Library for the Health Sciences	1:59pm until gone
Lichtenberger Engineering Library	1:59pm – 4:00pm
Main Library	1:59pm – 2:59pm
Pomerantz Business Library	10:00am until gone
Sciences Library	10:00am until gone

Think back to your high school geometry class; Pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi is approximately 3.14159, but has been calculated to over two trillion digits, it goes on infinitely without repeating or becoming a pattern. Science would not exist without Pi. Mathematics, statistics, engineering, geography, geology, computer science, etc. all rely on Pi.

More information about Pi can be found at Wolfram MathWorld: http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Pi.html

Nov 26 2012

Several Shades of Gray: A Different Kind of Research

Posted on November 26, 2012December 2, 2016 by The University of Iowa Libraries

Somewhere between an idea and a fully formed published work is the gray area of research in progress, raw data and “science right now” reports. This gray literature is often difficult to find, but provides details often omitted for the final published work and provides rapid release in new research areas.

Check out this guide to Gray/Grey Literature to bump up your research vocabulary: http://guides.lib.uiowa.edu/graylit .

Mar 14 2012

Celebrate Pi Day (belatedly) at the Libraries on March 19

Posted on March 14, 2012March 16, 2012 by The University of Iowa Libraries

Pi, Greek letter, is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th. Pi = 3.1415926535…. Pi is used in many different fields and can be seen in our everyday lives. It may be seen in art, structural design, body mobility, navigation, and probability. To celebrate the versatility of this number, the various campus libraries will celebrate at the same time, showing how pi is used in their subject areas.

Due to March 14th being during spring break, the celebration will take place next Monday, March 19th at 3:14 p.m.

Events will be held at the following libraries: Art, Pomerantz Business, Lichtenberger Engineering, Hardin, Main (near the Information Desk), Music, and Sciences. Join us at any of these locations to learn more about pi and have some apple pie bites.