Events – Sciences Library News

Mar 01 2019

Scientists Celebrate Earth Day at the Sciences Library!

Posted on March 1, 2019March 1, 2019 by Laurie Neuerburg

Join us at the Sciences Library on Friday, April 26^th from 2-4:30 pm as we celebrate Earth Day! Explore climate science through hands-on experiments with Dr. Stone’s chemistry research group, the Iowa City Science Booster Club, and Earth & Environmental scientists!

Did you ever wonder…

Why do some gases warm the atmosphere?
How do particles cool the earth?
How do clouds form?
Why are the oceans becoming more acidic?
What is albedo and how does it affect climate?
What lessens the heat island effect?

Activities for all ages. This is a free event. Bring your questions and join us for refreshments!

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Laurie Neuerburg in advance at 319-467-0216.

Image of Charles Darwin and the Beagle Adventure book cover

Feb 21 2019

Iowa City Darwin Day 2019

Posted on February 21, 2019 by Laurie Neuerburg

Iowa City Darwin Day celebrates science, evolution, and Darwin’s birthday this week! Sharon DeWitte and Ana Duggan will give talks about their research into epidemics and infectious diseases. Jeanne Serb will speak about the evolution of vision in animals, and Nicholas Strausfeld will present on the evolution of insect brains. There will be cake at Darwin’s birthday party on Saturday! The events will wrap up with a screening of the movie Contagion at FilmScene and a discussion led by Black Death expert Sharon DeWitte.

The UI Libraries offers numerous books, movies, and articles pertinent to Iowa City Darwin Day! We have the movie Contagion on DVD/Blu-ray, the Greatest Show on Earth and other works on evolution, the complete works of Charles Darwin and the graphic adaptation of On the Origin of Species, and much more in our Iowa City Darwin Day guide!

Feb 11 2019

Spring 2019 Workshops at the Sciences Library

Posted on February 11, 2019February 11, 2019 by Laurie Neuerburg

The following workshops are open to all students, faculty, and staff. There is no need to register in advance.

EndNote Workshop – Thursday, March 7, 2-3 PM, BB B20

In this workshop you will learn how to use EndNote to:

Collect references for articles, books, websites, and other sources using Google Scholar, InfoHawk+, and popular databases like Web of Science and Scopus;
Organize your references into groups and share your reference library with collaborators;
Use the Cite While You Write plugin for Microsoft Word to insert citations into your papers and format them into thousands of different styles.

EndNote Web is available for free to all members of the University of Iowa community. EndNote Desktop is available for free to all UI graduate students, faculty, and staff.

EndNote Workshop – Wednesday, April 10, 3:30-4:30 PM, CB W238

In this workshop you will learn how to use EndNote to:

Collect references for articles, books, websites, and other sources using Google Scholar, InfoHawk+, and popular databases like Web of Science and Scopus;
Organize your references into groups and share your reference library with collaborators;
Use the Cite While You Write plugin for Microsoft Word to insert citations into your papers and format them into thousands of different styles.

EndNote Web is available for free to all members of the University of Iowa community. EndNote Desktop is available for free to all UI graduate students, faculty, and staff.

If you’re interested, but unable to attend these workshops, private appointments and webinars can be arranged. If you have any questions or if you’d like to request a workshop for your class or group, please contact Laurie Neuerburg (319-467-0216 or laurie-neuerburg@uiowa.edu) for more information.

Oct 19 2018

Mole Day at the Sciences Library

Posted on October 19, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

In celebration of Mole Day on Oct. 23 and National Chemistry Week, Chauncey invited all of his mole friends over to hang out at the Sciences Library. Now the moles have taken over the library! Find a mole hidden at the Sciences Library during National Chemistry Week (Oct. 22-26) and bring it to the Sciences Library service desk for a treat!

Picture of audience with Dr. Hendrix at the front

Oct 11 2018

Lessons Learned About Iowa’s Wild Bees

Posted on October 11, 2018October 11, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

In Dr. Hendrix’s talk “Protecting Iowa’s Wild Bees: Your Backyard Counts,” we learned that honey bees are the only type of bees that are social. Most bees are solitary bees! Solitary bees create nests in holes in wood, bamboo, or in the ground. These solitary wild bees are important pollinators of almonds, berries, and other crops. Wild bees are more effective at pollination than honey bees because when wild bees visit flowers, the wild bees typically stay for a longer amount of time compared with honey bees. There are over 300 species of solitary wild bees in Iowa!

We learned a little about what life is like for bees who live in Iowa City! What spaces have a lot of greenery and flowers? Where are they located? How does the supply for bee foraging compare with demand?

And, finally, we learned what we can do to help bees thrive!

Bees will flock (or buzz?) to native prairie plants, so it helps to plant the following:

Zizia aurea (golden alexanders)
Dalea purpurea (purple prairie clover)
Amorpha canescens (leadplant)
Ratibida pinnata (grayhead coneflower)

The four plants listed above are known to be exceptional at attracting bees. However, planting any species of native flower will be helpful! Size doesn’t matter—even small gardens and potted plants will help!

You can create nesting spots for bees, such as this bee house:

You can reduce your use of lawn chemicals to help bees. You can even let your lawn grow a little longer and take a break from mowing. You can leave stems and be a little less tidy! The bees will like this, and you will too!

We appreciate everyone who came out to learn about Iowa’s wild bees! Thank you to Dr. Hendrix for sharing the scoop on Iowa’s wild bee population with us!

Goodbye, Dr. Hendrix and biology students!

Sep 13 2018

Protecting Iowa’s Wild Bees: Your Backyard Counts

Posted on September 13, 2018September 13, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

Join us at the Sciences Library for “Protecting Iowa’s Wild Bees: Your Backyard Counts” presented by Dr. Stephen D. Hendrix, UI Professor Emeritus.

Wed., Oct. 3, 12:30-1:30 PM, Sciences Library 3rd floor

Pizza & beverages provided while supplies last. Free & open to the public.

Aug 29 2018

Fall 2018 Workshops at the Sciences Library

Posted on August 29, 2018August 30, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

The following workshops are open to all students, faculty, and staff. There is no need to register in advance.

Staying Current Workshop – Thursday, September 20, 3:30-4:20 PM, SL 102

In this workshop you will learn how to:

Keep up with the news and research in your field
Use the library to find new sources of information
Learn how to set up email alerts and notifications

EndNote Workshop – Tuesday, September 25, 11-11:50 AM, SL 102

In this workshop you will learn how to use EndNote to:

Collect references for articles, books, websites, and other sources using Google Scholar, InfoHawk+, and popular databases like Web of Science and Scopus;
Organize your references into groups and share your reference library with collaborators;
Use the Cite While You Write plugin for Microsoft Word to insert citations into your papers and format them into thousands of different styles.

EndNote Web is available for free to all members of the University of Iowa community. EndNote Desktop is available for free to all UI graduate students, faculty, and staff.

EndNote Workshop – Wednesday, October 10, 1-1:50 PM, SL 102

In this workshop you will learn how to use EndNote to:

Collect references for articles, books, websites, and other sources using Google Scholar, InfoHawk+, and popular databases like Web of Science and Scopus;
Organize your references into groups and share your reference library with collaborators;
Use the Cite While You Write plugin for Microsoft Word to insert citations into your papers and format them into thousands of different styles.

EndNote Web is available for free to all members of the University of Iowa community. EndNote Desktop is available for free to all UI graduate students, faculty, and staff.

Scholarly Journals Workshop – Tuesday, October 23, 11-11:50 AM, SL 102

In this workshop you will learn how to:

Identify the most critical journals in your field
Learn about impact factors and other measures of quality
Recognize important characteristics of journals, such as whether they are open access, refereed, or predatory

Evaluating Science Workshop – Thursday, November 1, 3:30-4:20 PM, SL 102

In this workshop you will learn how to:

Assess science articles and news for credibility
Look for original sources of research
Investigate misinformation, bias, and retractions

Search Strategies Workshop – Wednesday, November 14, 12-12:50 PM, SL 102

In this workshop you will learn how to:

Choose which places to search
Improve the relevancy and precision of your search
Quickly evaluate search results

Aug 09 2018

Beekeeping 101 Event is the Bee’s Knees!

Posted on August 9, 2018August 9, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

There was a lively “hive” of people at the Sciences Library for Beekeeping 101!

We heard an informative talk about bees and beekeeping from Jim Davis.

Then we made a bee-line for the courtyard to take a closer look at bees and how they compare with other insects.

Finally, some of us acted out the waggle dance of the honey bee!

A huge thanks to Jim Davis of the East Central Iowa Beekeepers Association and the Iowa City Science Booster Club for making this an enjoyable and educational day for everyone!

Bombus huntii, M, face, Pennington County, SD_2012-11-14-15.34.51 ZS PMax. Badlands National Park, South Dakota.

Jun 26 2018

Beekeeping 101 at the Sciences Library

Posted on June 26, 2018July 2, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

Join us for Beekeeping 101 at the Sciences Library for an all-ages beekeeping talk and activities on Tuesday, July 31, 2-4 pm!

2-3 PM (Sciences Library room 102): Jim Davis of the East Central Iowa Beekeepers will give a talk on the management of bees, why bees are important, and what you can do to help all bees.

2-4 PM (Sciences Library courtyard): The Iowa City Science Booster Club will lead activities for learning about bee diversity and the bee waggle dance.

Free and open to the public. Refreshments provided.

Summer 2018 Sciences Library Workshops, Model of atom symbol

Jun 22 2018

Summer Workshops at the Sciences Library

Posted on June 22, 2018June 27, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

The following workshops are open to all students, faculty, and staff. There is no need to register in advance.

EndNote Workshop – Wednesday, July 18, 2-3 PM, Chemistry Building, W258

In this workshop you will learn how to use EndNote to:

Collect references for articles, books, websites, and other sources using Google Scholar, InfoHawk+, and popular databases like Web of Science and Scopus;
Organize your references into groups and share your reference library with collaborators;
Use the Cite While You Write plugin for Microsoft Word to insert citations into your papers and format them into thousands of different styles.

EndNote Web is available for free to all members of the University of Iowa community. EndNote Desktop is available for free to all UI graduate students, faculty, and staff.

Biology Databases Workshop – Wednesday, July 25, 2-3 PM, Biology Building, B20

In this workshop you will learn how to:

Use BioCyc to research metabolic pathways and genome databases.
Find articles in BIOSIS Citation Index using advanced searching, combinations of searches, and alerts.
Identify the most important biological research articles on your topics of interest using Faculty of 1000 (F1000).