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University of Iowa

University Libraries

Nov 11 2008

Digital Libraries and Digital Humanities – Nov 17

With the increasing importance of interdisciplinary research, and the increasing need for academic libraries to assume roles of information originator previously handled by others, new research alliances are forming on many university campuses.

Join us for a presentation by Dr. Richard Furuta from Texas A&M University, “Digital Libraries and Digital Humanities: Experiences with Research Partnerships among the Liberal Arts, the University Libraries, and Computing.”

Monday, November 17, 2008
3:45 – 5:15 p.m.
Second Floor Conference Room (2032), Main Library

In his presentation, Dr. Furuta will discuss experiences at Texas A&M University involving research collaborations with liberal arts, the University Libraries and computing.  The collaborations, to be described from the perspective of the Center for the Study of Digital Libraries, involve applications as broadly separated as textual studies, textual iconography, and nautical archaeology.  Taken together, the projects give insights on issues encountered when satisfying the research needs of disparate academic units and some illustrations on the ways that libraries can help in this.

Dr. Furuta’s current areas of research include digital libraries, digital humanities, hypermedia systems and models, structured documents, and document engineering.  In the area of Digital Libraries, he was one of the founders of the 1994 and 1995 Digital Libraries Conferences, which subsequently evolved to form the ACM/IEEE-CS Joint Conference on Digital Libraries (JCDL).  He will be program chair for JCDL 2009 and was program chair for ACM Digital Libraries 2000.  He currently serves on the Steering Committee for ACM/IEEE-CS JCDL and was its chair from 2001-2005.  He also is an Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Digital Libraries. Dr. Furuta received the B.A. degree from Reed College in 1974, the M.S. degree in Computer Science from the University of Oregon in 1978, and the Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from the University of Washington in 1986.

This colloquium is sponsored by the School of Library and Information Science and the IMLS Funded Digital Librarian Training Program.

Nov 10 2008

Get Research Help NOW!!

Finals are just around the corner and you’re probably thinking about writing research papers, but don’t know where to start. It’s easy, you can start at the Old Capitol Town Center Food Court.

What!?! Go to the mall? Yes. That’s where you’ll find some Info to Go. University librarians are available to help you Monday-Friday from 1-3 p.m.

They can help you do some preliminary searches through InfoHawk; they can point you to the most relevant journal article databases for your topic; they can show you how to organize your sources with RefWorks.

You’re already there studying, so why not take advantage of a little extra help?   Ask a Librarian!

Nov 4 2008

Ishmael Beah Lecture on UITV

Author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier Ishmael Beah spoke about his life in Sierra Leone as a child soldier and his activism for the rights of children on Wednesday, October 29 to an estimated crowd of 1,400 people. To see this lecture again or for the first time, tune into UITV on your local channel.

If you were unable to attend, UITV has decided to air the program as soon as possible. It will be shown three times this week as follows:

  • Wednesday, November 5 at 4pm
  • Thursday, November 6 at 3am
  • Thursday, November 6 at 5pm
Oct 31 2008

One Bean, One Vote – Nov 4

Is the election becoming a little too intense for you?  Lighten up by casting your Great Northern Bean to vote in the Main Library’s strictly unofficial presidential bean poll on Election Day, Nov. 4th. 

The bean poll will be located at the kiosk near the Information Desk at the Main Library.

Here’s how it works; simply drop a bean in the glass jar marked with your candidate’s name between 8:00 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 4th, Election Day.  Library Poll workers will tally the count and announce the results on Wednesday, Nov. 5th.

The six major presidential candidates according to Project Vote Smart are:

  • Charles O. Baldwin (Constitution Party)
  • Robert L. Barr (Independent, Libertarian Party)
  • John S. McCain, III (Republican Party)
  • Cynthia Ann McKinney (Independent, Green Party)
  • Ralph Nader (No Party Affiliation, Independent)
  • Barack H. Obama, Jr. (Democratic Party)
Oct 29 2008

Display at Main Library Highlights Politically Active Women

Through a display at the Main Library, the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., proudly presents, “Delta Women Who Have Served in the Political Arena,” to honor past and present members of the sorority who have served in public office. Members of the 95-year-old organization have labored in various capacities of local, state and federal government.

Political Awareness and Involvement is one of the organization’s Five Point Thrust, and only months after founding the sorority, young Delta women at Howard University participated in the Suffrage Parade on Washington on March 3, 1913. Although Black women suffragists had few allies and their concerns were not on the agenda, Delta women realized that Black women needed the ballot. Asked to march at the rear of the procession, Delta women were not discouraged and marched on Pennsylvania Avenue alongside women representing states, countries, organizations, and colleges. In 2008, Delta women continue to march for freedom and justice!

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. is a private, non-profit organization whose purpose is to provide assistance and support through established programs in local communities throughout the world. The Delta Chapter at the University of Iowa will celebrate its 90th anniversary in April 2009. The Iowa City-Cedar Rapids Alumnae chapter is composed of UI alums and current graduate students.

To learn more about Delta Sigma Theta in Iowa, you can check resources like the Catherine Williams Papers in the Iowa Women’s Archives as well as the digital collection of African-American Women in Iowa.

The display will be presented at the south end of the first floor of the Main Library through the end of November.

Oct 28 2008

Managing Through Adversity: Iowa Libraries and Flood of 2008

How did librarians manage the natural disasters throughout Eastern Iowa?  Please join the School of Library and Information Science for this exciting and informative panel as those in the trenches relay their first-hand knowledge of disaster planning, managing volunteers, preservation efforts at area museums and libraries, and ongoing activities by public and academic libraries to rebuild and recover after the flood.

Tuesday, November 4
Main Library, Second Floor Conference Room (2032)
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Scheduled to speak

  • Nancy Baker, University Librarian, University of Iowa Libraries
  • Tamara Glise, Interim Director, Cedar Rapids Public Library
  • Nancy Kraft, Head, Preservation, UI Libraries
  • Ruthann McIntyre, Head, UI Music Library
  • Rijn Templeton, Head, UI Art Library

For more information contact, Patricia Katopol, in the School of Library and Information Science.

Oct 23 2008

Raising the Dead? History, Health Reform and the 2008 Election – Oct 28

In this election season, competing proposals for health reform have again taken center stage.  Colin Gordon, the author of Dead on Arrival: The Politics of Health in Twentieth Century America, will place these proposals—and their prospects for success—in historical perspective.

Colin Gordon, Ph.D. is a professor of history at the University of Iowa, specializing in 20th Century U. S. History. For this program, Professor Gordon will provide a brief background on health care policy and its interaction with Presidential politics, prior to facilitating what we hope will be a lively discussion by all those in attendance.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008
5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, Information Commons, 2nd floor 

The University of Iowa History of Medicine Society is an informal group of students, faculty, staff, and members of the community sharing an interest in the history of medicine and the health sciences. We present speakers about once a month and, in the spring, host a banquet with a presentation from a well-known medical historian. We have no membership dues and we welcome participants from the University and the general community.

To become a member, simply send an e-mail to either Ed Holtum or Donna Sabin and ask to be placed on our electronic mailing list. In addition to alerting members of forthcoming presentations, the list is also a vehicle for members to communicate matters of interest relating to the history of medicine and the health sciences.

Oct 23 2008

Add Informative Maps to Your Presentations

The dark blue indicates that over two-thirds of the households have a home computer.
The dark blue indicates that over two-thirds of the households have a home computer.

In your marketing class, you may be developing a marketing plan for a pre-made meals restaurant specializing in vegetarian menus in Chicagoland. How do you learn where the highest percentage of people who purchase Boca Burgers live in Cook County?

Maybe you are working with an elder services agency in Des Moines and would like to provide computer classes for senior citizens across the state, but the question is where would be the best place to hold the classes?

The answer is in Simply Map. SimplyMap is a web-based mapping application that lets you quickly create professional-quality thematic maps and reports, using the thousands of US demographic, business and marketing data variables.

Dark blue indicates where there is a high number of retired people.
Dark blue indicates counties with a high number of retired people.

What Information Does Simply Map Contain?
SimplyMap contains thousands of socio-demographic, business and marketing variables.  Data comes from US government sources (Census, Labor Statistics, e.g.), as well as Market and Quality of Life data from EASI Inc., and Dun & Bradstreet “Points of Interest” data.

Most data sets are available down to the block group level, a geographic level used by the Census Bureau that is smaller than zip codes, although there is zip code data also.

What Does Simply Map Do?
Maps can be created and saved within the program, then made into Powerpoint slides, added to Word documents, put on the web, etc.

Dark red shows counties with a high number of retired people AND where over two-thirds of the households own a computer.
Dark red shows counties with a high number of retired people AND where over two-thirds of the households own a computer.

Custom data tables can be created then exported in Excel spreadsheet format, and can also be downloaded as shapefiles-with-data that can then be put into a desk-top mapping program, such as ESRI’s ArcMap.   Maps can then be created in ArcMap from SimplyMap’s shapefiles-with-data, with no need to join the data to existing Arcmap tables.

Who Uses Simply Map?
SimplyMap is of use to those interested in the demographics of large and small geographic areas of the US, e.g., sociologists, political scientists, journalists, business and marketing students and faculty.  In addition, the data would be of use to life scientists who need background information for their demographic studies.  SimplyMap includes 1980, 1990, and 2000 Census data, adjusted to 2000 census geographies, as well as 2006 and 2007 estimates and 2012 projections.  1970 census data will be available in future, but will not be geographically adjusted.

How Do I Use Simply Map?
This resource is available to individuals affiliated with the University of Iowa.  To use SimplyMap, type “simplymap” into the Smart Search box on the Libraries website (if you’re off campus, you’ll need to type in your HawkID and password). You can create a personal workspace by clicking  on “Create Personal Workspace” and entering your e-mail address and a password. SimplyMap will then send a confirmation e-mail to your e-mail address – please click on the link in this e-mail to activate your account.

Can I Work on Group Projects in Simply Map?
Yes.  All members of your project group can share the same SimplyMap personal workspace and do collaborative work.

Can I Add My Own Data to Simply Map?
Yes.  At this point, you should send your geographical-based data set to SimplyMap, and they will put it on the web.  In future, users will have the capability to upload their data directly.

For any questions about Simply Map and how to use it, please contact Maps Librarian Mary McInroy in the UI Libraries Map Collection.

Oct 22 2008

Engage Her! Film Screening and Discussion – Oct 28

If the election this year is anything like 2004, 70 percent of Asian American women and Latinas, and 40 percent of African American women will be missing at the polls on Election Day. Learn how to make this election different.

Engage Her! Getting Minority Women to Lead and Vote Film Screening and Discussion
Tuesday, October 28 at 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Second Floor Conference Room Main Library (2032)

Touching on the history of suffrage, and featuring interviews with politically active women from a variety of backgrounds, Engage Her! is “a groundbreaking documentary about the importance of mobilizing women voters, particularly women of color from underrepresented groups.”

Join us on October 28. Vote on (or before) November 4.

Co-sponsors: Center for Diversity & Enrichment, Council on the Status of Latinos, Iowa Biosciences Advantage, Iowa Edge, University Libraries, College of Nursing, Women in Science & Engineering, Women’s Resource & Action Center