Geosciences – Sciences Library News

Dec 13 2018

Snowflakes & Snow Exhibit

Posted on December 13, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

It’s fun to catch snowflakes on your tongue, cut out paper snowflakes, and shovel snowflakes—oops, no. Starting again—it’s fun to catch snowflakes on your tongue, cut out paper snowflakes, and we’re featuring scientist snowflakes in our new exhibit!

Can you find the following scientists hidden in the snowflakes?

Marie Curie
Thomas Edison
Benjamin Franklin
Rosalind Franklin
Jane Goodall
Stephen Hawking
Katherine Johnson
Nikola Tesla
Dorothy Vaughan

If you would like to cut out your own scientist snowflakes, you can find the patterns from the Franklin Institute!

We have supplies on hand at the Sciences Library so you can add your own snowflake design to our service desk.

Brush up on snow ecology, building snow shelters, and the science of snow with Snow, Ice and Other Wonders of Water: A Tribute to the Hydrogen Bond & other books in our Snowflakes & Snow exhibit!

Chauncey shows an Erlenmeyer flask paper snowflake

Dec 07 2018

Finals Week Snacks & Snowflakes

Posted on December 7, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

During Finals Week, Chauncey reviews his notes, gets enough sleep, and studies with friends at the Sciences Library. He creates his own study guides and asks himself questions that might be on his exams. When he gets tired, he finds it helpful to take short breaks.

Luckily, Chauncey discovered that the Sciences Library provides cookies, coffee, tea, and fun for short breaks! While he likes the Legos, K’Nex, and games, Chauncey’s favorite activity has been cutting out paper snowflakes. He had a lot of fun creating an Erlenmeyer flask snowflake! Join Chauncey at the Sciences Library to study for finals. He’ll show you where to find the cookies, coffee, and snowflake patterns!

Nov 28 2018

Red Planet Day 2018

Posted on November 28, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

On this day in 1964, the Mariner 4 spacecraft launched and completed the first Mars flyby, marking today as Red Planet Day. Mariner 4 took snapshots of the surface of Mars and gave us our first up-close view of the planet. While Mariner 4 was meant to capture data only for a few months, it stayed in orbit collecting solar wind data for several years.

Just two days ago, NASA landed the InSight spacecraft on Mars. InSight will go under the surface of Mars to learn more about its interior structure by measuring its temperature and seismic activity. Knowing more about the Mar’s interior structure will help us learn about its geological formation. As the geology and climate of Mars match most closely to Earth’s of all the planets, Mars stands out as the most promising planet for possible human settlements and the most likely place to search for signs of alien life!

Celebrate Red Planet Day with some of our books about Mars!

We have fun films too!

Hope you have a Happy Red Planet Day!

Photo of Mars — Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/USGS

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

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.

Aug 16 2018

Top 10 Things to Know About the Sciences Library

Posted on August 16, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

10. You can connect with us on Facebook and Twitter!

9. You can email, call, or schedule an appointment with one of our librarians (Laurie Neuerburg or Leo Clougherty) if you need help finding books, articles, or anything else for your research.

8. You can use our scanner on the 1st floor for free.

7. You can take a rest and study comfortably using our bean bag chairs, tables, armchairs, and carrels.

6. It’s easy to visit us from downtown–you will find us on Iowa Ave across from Joe’s Place.

5. Our mascot is a gorilla named Chauncey.

4. We can help you find datasets online and properly manage your own research data.

3. Our building was designed to be an anatomical theater for medical students and so the back of the building has a semicircular shape!

2. You can use our subject guides to find the best resources for your research in astronomy, biology, chemistry, environmental science, physics, and more.

1. We provide free coffee and tea!

Jul 12 2018

Sunsetting of the Open Access Fund

Posted on July 12, 2018July 12, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

For several years, UI Libraries has maintained an Open Access (OA) Fund to help researchers pay for the article processing charges (APCs) on open access publications. This fund supports authors choosing to make their publications open for anyone to read, broadening their audience and providing wide access to important research. We have decided to sunset the OA Fund for APCs within two years due to budget constraints. We found that the fund did nothing to offset our rapidly increasing journal subscription costs. In fact, the fund largely supports the same publishers to which we pay our pricey subscriptions. Given this reality, the final year that funding will be available is 2020, and the amount of funding for 2019 has been reduced from $3,000 per article to $2,000 per article. Additionally, each author will only be eligible to receive funding from the OA fund one time per fiscal year in 2019. Articles must have been accepted into a high quality, peer-reviewed, open access journal with ethical standards.

Though the OA Fund will be sunsetted, there are other options to support open access publishing. Authors can take advantage of green OA through the Iowa Repository Online (IRO) or pre-print and post-print repositories. Additionally, authors might be able to find grants or ask their departments to fund APCs. In the meantime, the UI Libraries will be exploring sustainable models to fund open access publishing in the future. If you have specific questions, feel free to reach out to Mahrya Burnett, Scholarly Communications Librarian, mahrya-burnett@uiowa.edu or 319-335-5937.

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).

Image of Cool dark lava subducting, exposing red-hot lava

May 10 2018

The Kilauea Volcano

Posted on May 10, 2018May 11, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

The recent eruptions of the Kilauea volcano have reminded us of the humbling power of nature, have drawn our attention to the hazards associated with active volcanoes such as ash plumes, earthquakes, and vog (volcanic smog), and have disrupted the lives of thousands of Hawaiians. We wish for safety and a smooth recovery for all of those affected, and here are some resources to stay up-to-date about what is happening:

USGS Kilauea Volcano Erupts

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) Kilauea Daily Update

NPS Hawaii Volcanoes

Image of Fumaroles near Halema u'mau Crater in Kilauea Caldera — Fumaroles near Halema u’mau Crater in Kilauea Caldera. Image credit: Richard G. Baker, Geoscience Dept., UI.

Kilauea is a highly active volcano—lava has been flowing almost continuously since 1983. Kilauea means “spewing,” and it is a type of shield volcano. Researchers study the changes in Kilauea’s magma composition and temperature over time. Scientists also track the amount of seismic activity and sulfur dioxide emissions of Kilauea. Tracking Kilauea’s behavior allows scientists to predict when Kilauea will erupt, giving people living near the volcano time to evacuate and demonstrating how science saves lives.

Image of Lava fountain at Pu'u O'o in 1984 — Lava fountain at Pu’u O’o in 1984. Image credit: Geological Survey (U.S.), Geoscience Dept., UI.

What do we have on volcanoes at the UI Libraries?

See Kilauea and other volcanic images online in our collection of Geoscience Slides. This magnificent collection includes more than volcanoes. There are thousands of images of U.S. National Parks depicting caverns, rivers, mountains, lakes, and other natural environments.

Watch streaming videos:

The 1955 Eruption of Kilauea Volcano-Hawaii, Kilauea and Venus, and Rivers of Fire.

Read books:

Hawaiian Volcanoes: From Source to Surface, Volcanoes of the World, The Encyclopedia of Volcanoes, and Sulfur in Magmas and Melts: Its Importance for Natural and Technical Processes. Search InfoHawk+ or ask a librarian to find more.

Apr 26 2018

Finals Week Treats at the Sciences Library

Posted on April 26, 2018April 27, 2018 by Laurie Neuerburg

You need comfortable seating. You need short, engaging study breaks. You need homemade brownie bites. All of this is available to you if you study for final exams at the Sciences Library!

A variety of seating—tables, study carrels, bean bag chairs, and quiet study space for individuals as well as group study spaces
Legos, K’Nex, origami, and games to give your brain a treat for working so hard
Free coffee, tea, cookies, and homemade brownie bites to give your brain fuel

Don’t wait! Study at the Sciences Library today! And tomorrow, the day-after-tomorrow, and the day after that … you get the picture, whenever you are ready to study, we are here for you.

Oct 18 2016

Use Google Scholar to access library subscriptions

Posted on October 18, 2016October 18, 2016 by Sara Scheib

Question: How do I access articles the library subscribes to through Google Scholar?

Answer: The answer to this depends upon where you are when searching Google Scholar. If you are using a computer connected to the campus network, Google Scholar automatically detects that and provides a text link to UILink. Follow that link to see if we have access to the article.

If you are searching Google Scholar from off campus, you have two options for getting Google Scholar to recognize that you are affiliated with UI. If you use our link (http://purl.lib.uiowa.edu/GoogleSch) from Databases A-Z, you will be prompted to log in with your Hawk ID and then UILink will appear in Google Scholar results.

If you are working off campus and prefer to go directly to Google Scholar, you can show it that you are UI-affiliated if you have a Google account. When logged in to your Google account and on the Google Scholar search page, go to Settings in the upper right, then Library links on the left side of the Scholar Settings page. Use the search box to locate University of Iowa, then the check box to turn on University of Iowa – ViewIt@UILink in results.